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ATLANTA FALCONS
Kyle Shanahan

Dan Quinn helps Kyle Shanahan balance coaching opportunity with playoff run

Lindsay H. Jones
USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Falcons Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan, right, speaks with Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn before the first half of an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, in Atlanta.

Two years ago, Dan Quinn coached the Seattle Seahawks defense all the way through the Super Bowl, all while the Atlanta Falcons were holding their head coaching vacancy open for him.

Now Quinn can offer some guidance to Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator in the midst of the same process with the San Francisco 49ers as Atlanta continues its postseason run.

“I definitely have shared insight with him as he was going through the process,” Quinn said Wednesday.

The 49ers appear to have honed in on Shanahan to be their next head coach, USA TODAY Sports’ Tom Peliserro reported on Tuesday, but league rules prohibit the Niners from extending a formal offer or announcing a hiring until the new coach’s current team is out of the playoffs. Shanahan’s Falcons host the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

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Quinn said the league rules that limit contact between a job candidate and potential employer help the coach focus on his current job, and keep it from becoming a distraction while game-planning and running practices. That seems to have worked for Quinn two years ago, when his Seahawks won the NFC Championship Game and came up one play away from winning a second consecutive Super Bowl title.

Quinn declined to offer more comment or specifics about Shanahan’s status beyond saying there will be window of time in which Shanahan will be allowed to meet with the Niners for a second interview next week.

“It is definitely not our story to tell,” Quinn said.

Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.

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