NFL "Expansion" Team: Atlanta Falcons (hc09)

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Morning everyone!

While I've run many dynasties in the 'coaching' section, I've decided to post my latest HC dynasty here, so more people could see it; and maybe introduce some new people to the excellent game of Head Coach that might otherwise not have seen much on it. Since I'm working up the motivation to re-start and post my NCAA14 Cal-State dynasty, Madden 16, and a linked NCAA-Madden player dynasty, I figure it'll be easier for me to track them all in one place. Never enough time to play and post with life going on; but I'll do my best. At the very most, people will read and enjoy and maybe try HC who never did before; at the very least, it lets me keep track of my franchises without writing it down on pen/paper like in the old Tecmo Bowl days...

So, what does this mean? It means I've taken a team, in this case, Atlanta - and completely gutted the roster. When the draft hits, my roster will be ZERO players. I'll build my team off the draft and whoever I can find through free-agency post-draft. Hopefully, I'll be able to cobble together enough talent to survive my first season; and begin to drive towards a Super Bowl one day!

(just a heads up for this franchise: I strive for realism, and won't be hoarding unrealistic numbers of draft picks, picking all the sleepers, cheating the game on contracts, etc. If there's a "sleeper" I want, I'll draft him where he should be drafted, not trying to steal him later. My first year, I'll lean on the GM suggestions - as will be explained in the story. I pull a lot of info from the news from back in the day to help mold my dynasty and track players. I play my games, and start from the offseason to add variety. I'll be pulling some of the starting info from the last time I did my expansion team experiment; but once the draft hits, it'll be rolling live...)



(coming soon for NCAA 14)
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Breaking News!

An official statement from the league's offices confirms earlier reports that the NFL's Birmingham Stallions have been sold! The following is a summary of the Birmingham Journal's official statement:


"Today, the Birmingham Stallions owner Marvin Warner has announced that the Stallions have been sold.

Marvin was the original owner of the Stallions, bringing the team into the NFL in 1965 (they began play in 1966). Although the team had its shares of highs and lows, they never found real success until the 1998 season, when they advanced their first, and only, Super Bowl. They were defeated by the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII by a score of 34-19, but it seemed the team had finally joined the elite of the NFL.
However, the team failed to maintain that level of success. While there were two seasons where they were able to make it to the playoffs, there were also 8 losing seasons out of the last 10.

The people of Birmingham will no doubt miss the Stallions, the Fillies, and the Warner family themselves."

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Before we say goodbye to the Birmingham Stallions, let's take a look back...

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Joe Cribbs, one of the Stallions best running backs, only played one year for the team. Drafted by the Bills, he earned Rookie of the Year. Cribbs and the Bills had a rocky relationship, forcing him to leave the team for a year, which he spent on the Stallions, before returning to the Bills. He then played for 49ers, Colts and Dolphins. He rushed for 1,487 yards and 8 tds during his season with the Stallions.

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Cliff Stoudt was drafted by the Steelers where he backed up the great Terry Bradshaw for several years. In 1983, Bradshaw's last season, Cliff led the team into the playoffs with a 10-6 record, before they last to the Raiders. With uncertainty regarding Terry's decision to retire or return, Cliff signed with Birmingham for two seasons before ending his career after stops with the Cardinals and Dolphins. In his two seasons in Birmingham, Cliff threw 60 tds and averaged over 3,000 per season.

So, what's next for the franchise? The NFL is making it's announcement later today...

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The NFL has confirmed that the franchise formerly known as the Birmingham Stallions has disbanded, and the ownership transferred over to the Haskell family. The franchise will be moving to Atlanta, Georgia; and will be re-branded as the Atlanta Falcons.



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The lowdown, dirty recap:

The 2007 season was a disaster. The Stallions star quarterback, Michael Vick, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a dogfighting scandal. The loss of their franchise quarterback forced the team to plug in whoever they could to try to guide them to a respectable finish in this, their lame-duck season. Injuries and defections piled up. It got worse.

Bobby Petrino, in his first year coaching the Stallions, decided the lure of the college ranks was too strong compared the last season in Birmingham, without its franchise QB and the losses piling up. He resigned in December 2007, and Emmitt Thomas stepped in as interim coach - but the season was lost. The Stallions limped to a 4-12 record.

Rumors began to circulate towards the end of the 2006 season that Marvin was ill, and was interested in selling the team. The league approved the sale of the team in December of 2006; however with the same provision as the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens deal. The name, logo, records, statistics, etc. of the Stallions would remain with Birmingham; should the NFL relocate a franchise back to Alabama. There was one difference, however; the NFLPA ruled that since the franchise known as the Birmingham Stallions was no longer an active entity, the players contracts had to be bought out (paying out their effective one year salary for 2008) and the players were become free agents. Naturally, the newly christened Atlanta Falcons ownership attempted to sue for a reversal; but were unsuccessful. To add salt to the wounds, in order to maintain a competitive balance with regards to the salary cap; the Falcons had to count the salaries paid out against the 2008 cap, amounting to close to $40,000,000 in penalties.

Now, with the draft just a couple months away, and the cupboards literally bare - Falcons ownership was forced to cobble together a hodgepodge coaching staff and prepare for the offseason. This was not how the Falcons envisioned their inaugural year. They were able to convince some of Petrino's staff to remain with the team, but the search was on for a Head Coach - someone who would steer his ship right into this Maelstrom, and come out the other side smiling.

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The new Falcons helmet. The old war with the San Francisco 49ers over color scheme appears over.




Here's one last look at the Birmingham Fillies!

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and the first look at the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders!

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THE QUEST FOR A COACH...

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The Atlanta Falcons have announced they will be bringing in 8 candidates to interview for the Head Coaching position. (2007 interim Head Coach Emmitt Thomas has declined to interview for the position, and will return his his position as defensive backs coach.)


1. Charlie Weis (2007: Head Coach at Notre Dame)

Charlie has a tremendous resume. He was the offensive architect of the vaunted Patriots offense that created a hero out of an unknown QB named Tom Brady. Charlie chose to begin his head coaching career in the collegiate ranks, finally reaching the coveted position as Head Coach at Notre Dame; but many wonder if he'd consider rejoining the NFL Coaching Ranks alongside former boss Bill Belichek and former co-worker and Patriots Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel. Crennel is the current Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns.

2. Mike Sherman (2007: Offensive Coordinator with the Houston Texans)

Mike was the Packers head coach for 6 seasons following the departure of Mike Holmgren. He led the Packers to 5 consecutive winning seasons, 4 straight postseasons, and 3 straight NFC North titles. For his final season, the team brought in a General Manager, and the team went south as the friction mounted. Mike was fired after losing the power struggle, and he was the Offensive Coordinator for the Houston Texans for two seasons.

3. Jim Fassel (2007: out of football)

Jim was the Head Coach for the New York Giants when they went to the Super Bowl to face the Baltimore Ravens. Considered an offensive guru, Jim has been eager to return to the sidelines as the Head Coach of a team once again. He spent 2006 as the Offensive Coordinator for the Ravens, but was let go to pursue head coaching gigs.

4. Jim Zorn (2007: QB coach with the Seattle Seahawks)

Jim Zorn is a hot name among first time coaching candidates. A good QB for years with the Seattle Seahawks, Jim returned to the Seahawks as a coach. Learning the trade on the Seahawk sideslines since 2001, Jim has also been linked the opening with the Washington Redskins.

5. Rich Rodriguez (2007: Head Coach at West Virginia University)

Rich has been blazing a path through the NCAA with his exciting spread offense. After years in West Virginia, Rich is ready to take his coaching game to a bigger stage. He has an interview set up with Michigan, but also agreed to interviews with the Redskins, Ravens, and now the Falcons.

6. Brian Billick (2007: Head Coach with the Baltimore Ravens)

Brian led his Ravens team to a Super Bowl title back in 2000. Since then, however, the Ravens have been up and down. After the 2007 season, both sides agreed it was time to part ways. It's rumored that his Defensive Coordinator, Rex Ryan will interview for the Ravens Head Coaching vacancy; but has declined to interview for the Falcons one. It's possible he'll follow Coach Billick wherever he ends up if he fails to land the Ravens job.

7. Kent Austin (2007: Head Coach with the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Kent is undoubtedly a surprise candidate, as he is coming from the CFL, however, as a CFL Champion player and Head Coach, he's definitely in the mix. In 2007, his team only finished 9-9 (the CFL plays 18 game seasons) but they fought their way to, and won, the CFL Grey Cup. Now in a contract struggle with the Roughriders ownership, he's a name to remember.

8. June Jones (2007: Head Coach at Hawaii)

June has been an NFL Head Coach twice before, with the Chargers in an interim basis and Stallions. His stint with Birmingham was from 1994-1996; and only resulted in one playoff appearance. He went 3-7 as the interim head coach for the Chargers in 1998. At Hawaii, however, he ended the season undefeated and ranked #10 in the polls before a loss in the Sugar Bowl vs the Georgia Bulldogs. He is a man of character; and his Run and Shoot offense is still potent and exciting.

So - who will be named the first Head Coach in Atlanta Falcons history? ? ?

Stay tuned!

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The Atlanta Falcons have announced their Head Coach for the 2008 season!

Mike Sherman!

Mike, 53, has a long and accomplished coaching career. His first coaching stop was at Stamford High School in 1978; and has seen numerous stops over the years. After stops at Texas A&M and UCLA, Mike followed Mike Holmgren from Green Bay to Seattle and spent a year as the Offensive Coordinator before leaving to become the Head Coach with the Green Bay Packers in 2000.

After his previously mentioned successes in Green Bay, Coach Sherman spent two seasons in Houston as an Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator for Coach Gary Kubiak. 2007 saw Houston reach 8-8, its first non-losing season.

Regarding the "Power Struggle" that led to his ousting in Green Bay, Coach Sherman said that the ownership decided to "meddle a bit too much". The Head Coach had also held the title of General Manager since the years of Mike Holmgren. (with the exception of one-and-done Coach Rhodes in 1999) Despite his success, the team decided to hire a full-time GM and strip Coach Sherman of the title. The team struggled; and since he was powerless to help it, Coach Sherman knew he had to get out of there. Getting fired was considered a blessing by the Coach.

Now, in Atlanta, they do have a General Manager in place. Coach Sherman said there won't be any issues. "The situation is completely different. In Green Bay, I had the power, and I was winning. They took that from me, of course it was going to create stress and confusion. Here, in Atlanta, the GM (Don Ross) and I are coming in together to build this team from scratch. We both know our roles and both are going to work together to "create" this team. I'll have my input for who I need on the field, and he'll work to crunch the numbers. It's going to be fine."

Coach Sherman brings quite the resume to Atlanta, and is eager to build on his 57 victories and devotion to success....

We wish him luck... the draft is days away!

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(Some quick hits on Coach Sherman and the dynasty set-up)

Coach Sherman - 14 overall (Chem/Playcall/Strategy/Performance at 3) All offensive categories are at 3, except a couple at play learning. I will finish upgrading them to 3 before I spend any points on special skills. I want to reflect Sherman's overall skill and background as a former head coach and offensive coordinator. I did take Game Film Analysis to reflect that and leave me with an even 0 points left to spend.)

Offense - Mularky Power Run (Mike Mularky is the Offensive Coordinator. Buffalo still uses his playbook so it makes sense to use it here since it's still in existence. I will sub out about 5-10 plays to alter it a bit and add a couple plays that Coach Sherman would favor, since he is primarily from the Holmgren West Coast camp.)

Defense - Jim Johnson's Plays (Brian Van Gorder is my Defensive Coordinator. This is his first DC gig, and was the LBC last season. Coach Sherman's last DC was Jim Bates, who was last with Denver last season as a DC. He was let go, and is contemplating retirement. He favors small, fast linebackers; and VanGorder is a fan of the Eagles attacking defense of Jim Johnson. Bates is "on-call" as a mentor/sounding board for VanGorder; and will help him design and implement his take on the Jim Johnson defense.



The 2008 Coaching Staff:

Offensive Coordinator - Mike Mularky (22 ovr)
Defensive Coordinator - Brian Vangorder (26 ovr)
Special Teams Coordinator - Keith Armstrong (63 ovr)
QB Coach - Bill Musgrave (32 ovr)
RB Coach - Gerald Brown (5 ovr)
WR Coach -Terry Robiskie (56 ovr)
OL Coach - Paul Boudreau (16 ovr)
DL Coach - Ray Hamilton (75 ovr)
LB Coach - Glenn Pires (9 ovr)
DB Coach - Emmitt Thomas (95 ovr)
Trainer - Ryan King (1 ovr)
GM - Don Ross (38 ovr)

Obviously the staff needs work. Except for VanGorder, Musgrave, and Emmitt Thomas, the entire staff bolted during the Petrino fiasco and offseason. We're hoping VanGorder develops, although it seems that both Emmitt Thomas and Ray Hamilton could be looking for DC jobs of their own soon. Mularky, being a former head coach, may want another shot if the opportunity presents itself. Robiskie may be the only in-house candidate to replace him if he left, although it should be open to outside applicants as well.