Falcons helping Kyle Shanahan's quest to be head coachBy John McClain October 1, 2015 
Expect Atlanta offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to become an NFL head coach within the next two years.Shanahan has paid his dues with the Texans, Washington and Cleveland. Now he's in perfect position with the undefeated Falcons to reach a goal he's had since before he played receiver at the University of Texas: following in the head coaching footsteps of his famous father, Mike Shanahan.The Texans, who employed Kyle Shanahan as receivers coach in 2006, quarterbacks coach in 2007, and offensive coordinator in 2008-09, will find out Sunday how prolific the Falcons' offense is with Shanahan calling plays for quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones.The Falcons are so explosive they scored 39 points in an 11-point victory at Dallas, and the Cowboys are supposed to have one of the league's better defenses - just like the Texans.No way Shanahan takes his foot off the pedal for the franchise that gave him his first position job in the NFL."I was young when he was our offensive coordinator," left tackle Duane Brown said about his first two seasons with the Texans. "He was a good coach. We had an incredible offense. He was young and fiery and had a balanced attack."Impressive at DallasNow Shanahan is 35 and still has a balanced attack. Just look at what the Falcons did at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.Ryan threw for 285 yards. Jones caught 12 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Levonta Freeman ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons overcame three double-digit deficits.General manager Rick Smith has known Shanahan since he was in diapers (Shanahan, not Smith). Smith was an assistant coach and assistant general manager under Mike Shanahan in Denver. Smith and Shanahan arrived in Houston in 2006, Gary Kubiak's first season as coach."I'm very proud of Kyle and his evolution as a coach," Smith said. "He's a really good offensive coordinator."From what I see in his development, Kyle's a guy who really understands how to attack defenses and how to put his players in position to make plays. That's a skill he had to develop and hone."After one turmoil-filled season at Cleveland, Shanahan asked out of his contract, and the Browns granted his wish. He moved to Atlanta, where new coach Dan Quinn, who was Seattle's defensive coordinator, offered him a job.Quinn's defensive coordinator is Richard Smith, another former Texans assistant. Shanahan has been given freedom over an offense that has talent, chemistry and stability.Adapts to personnel"From my experience of going against Kyle, he's really able to adapt to the personnel," Quinn said. "He has a real knack of how to position the guys to feature them at their best. He wants to run it and be aggressive, and that helps the toughness of our team."The Falcons play in a peaceful environment compared to Shanahan's last two jobs at Washington, where he helped quarterback Robert Griffin III become NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, and Cleveland, where he was caught in the middle of the Johnny Manziel whirlwind.Brian Hoyer, who's in his first season with the Texans, was the Browns' starting quarterback last season. They lost at home to the Texans in Ryan Mallett's first start."I was very fond of Kyle," Hoyer said. "He was a great coach, always focused, his mind always on football. I came away from it with a ton of respect for him."You could tell he'd been around the game of football for a long time. I think he knows the business better than most because of growing up around it."Hoyer has no doubt Shanahan will be a head coach."For sure," he said. "He's got the knowledge and the passion. He knows if you set your goals toward something and work hard toward those goals, it's never out of reach."link
