Are the Falcons Being Set Up For the Hustle?

So a smooth talking guy, 40 something year old walks into the owner's office and wows him with presentation, ideas, concepts, theorized innovations and plans (no actual track record) and Arthur Blank signs him right up to coach the Falcons. Sound familiar? It's deja vu for Falcons fans. Not only was this the scene with Jim Mora, the same thing just happened with the hiring of Bobby Petrino.

They say you have to know where you've been to know where you're going. It's unfortunate that the Falcons organization doesn't have much of a sense of history. I'm still unsure why the Falcons chose to take the risk of hiring a college coach. And hiring a college coach is, in fact, risky. Their track record doesn't lie. Not only do college coaches' skill set usually not translate well to the NFL, college coaches lack one of the great motivators that NFL coaches have - shame.

There is no consequence for a college coach failing in the NFL. When a NFL lifer gets let go from a head coach job, what happens? For a while, unemployement. If you're lucky, you get an analyst job during your unplanned sabbatical. If you're determined to get another head coaching job, you usually wait years for your prior transgressions to be forgotten about. If you want to work sooner, you go to a more lowly team than the one you were fired from. And the truly humbled, even those who have winning records, playoff appearances, etc. meekly reappear on the sidelines as someone's coordinator or assistant head coach. And they pray they don't get fired from those jobs.

And what happens to a college coach when they fail in the NFL? Let's review. (Don't forget that they usually get paid premium salaries when they come into the league, so they're usually already well ahead of the eight ball.)

Pete Carroll fails in the NFL. Oh, well. He'll just go collect his millions and be lord of Los Angeles. His QB hooks up with Paris Hilton and Will Ferrell is one of the many celebrity guests that get to come to practice.

Steve Spurrier fails in the NFL. Oh, well. He'll just go collect his millions and be king of South Carolina.

Nick Saban fails in the NFL. Oh, well. He'll just go collect his millions and be Jesus Christ-elect of the state of Alabama.

See, the colleges coaches have wised up to the game. Try your hand at the NFL for kicks, for pride, for ego. If it works out? Great. If it doesn't? "Settle" for millions and a better coaching job than the one I left. There's no shame in that. Let's hope the Falcons aren't the latest in a long line of victims.