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While the decision to hire Dan Quinn as their next head coach was widely expected, the Atlanta Falcons couldn’t make it official until Quinn was done with his duties as the Seahawks defensive coordinator.

Those duties concluded with the end of Sunday night's 28-24 loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. So it came as no real surprise when the Falcons announced Monday afternoon that Quinn will take over for Mike Smith, who was let go after seven years with a 66-46 record.

As Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper notes, Smith’s teams won just 10 games the last two seasons, however, and Quinn will be charged with building up the defense while getting an offense with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White to fire at a high level in order to get better results in the future.

The Falcons worked on building Quinn’s staff while waiting to hire him and it’s expected to include offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan with Raheem Morris and Richard Smith on the defensive side of the ball.

In addition to those hires, Alex Marvez of FOXSports reports that Seahawks assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan will head to Atlanta with Quinn to become the Falcons’ offensive line coach.

Quinn helped form and lead one of the greatest defenses of the modern era in Seattle after taking over when Gus Bradley departed for Jacksonville.

During Super Bowl week, Seahawks defensive players gushed about Quinn's ability as a schemer and play-caller. Linebacker K.J. Wright described Quinn as a "defensive mastermind."

As NFL.com's Kevin Patra suggested, the Falcons' defense needs a lot of juice, especially up front where Atlanta's pass rush was one of the worst in the NFL under Smith. While Quinn won't have nearly the pieces to play with that he enjoyed in Seattle, defensive backs Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford provide a tangible base.

With a ready-made offense, a few added pieces on defense and the addition of Quinn, Patra believes the Falcons should be in for a quick turnaround after a disappointing 6-10 season.