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The NFL world has expected this move for more than two weeks now, but the Falcons have finally made it official by announcing Tuesday that they've hired former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their new head coach.

Quinn takes over for the departed Mike Smith, who went 66-46 (.589) across seven seasons in Atlanta. Smith's Falcons made the playoffs in four of his first five seasons, never finishing worse than 9-7 in that time. They won only one playoff game in that span, though, and regressed badly over the last two seasons. They compiled a record of just 10-22 amid various injuries and mismanagement, which led to Smith's being fired by owner Arthur Blank at the end of the 2014 campaign. 

We're here to look forward, not backward, though, so here are a few things to know about Quinn.

1. The buck stops with Quinn

During Quinn's introductory press conference, owner Arthur Blank let on that Quinn will have final say over the 53-man roster.

This is a change from the Mike Smith regime, where Dimitroff had final say on the roster in addition to his other responsibilities.

2. Offense is ready to go

As a defensive coach, there's no better situation to walk into than one where there's already a ton of offensive talent on hand and you just need to fix up your side of the ball.

Armed with a stud quarterback in Matt Ryan and a top-flight passing game target in Julio Jones, Quinn is on the right track in that department. Throw in Roddy White, Harry Douglas and even Devin Hester as additional passing game options, and it's not hard to see the Falcons having continued offensive success. Atlanta ranked 11th in Football Outsiders' offensive DVOA this past season despite sustaining a torrent of injuries along the offensive line and seeing the running game deteriorate as Steven Jackson aged in front of our eyes.

Dan Quinn is the new coach of the Falcons. (Getty Images)

Jackson's time as a feature back has passed, and the remaining options -- Devonta Freeman, Jacquizz Rodgers and Antone Smith -- don't exactly inspire much fear in defenses. The Falcons will still need to shore up the line, as well. They drafted tackle Jake Matthews to begin that process last season, but Matthews struggled badly for most of the year. Guards Jon Asamoah and Justin Blalock had strong seasons, but no matter how you spin it, there are holes to be patched along the line.

Quinn's will have some help on that front, of course. His offensive coordinator will be Kyle Shanahan, who is considered one of the brightest and most creative offensive minds in football. Shanahan built a hybrid system that enabled Robert Griffin III to have great success as a rookie in Washington, and also had the Cleveland Browns looking like one of the best offenses in the NFL before center Alex Mack went down for the season in 2014.

3. Defensive philosophy

Quinn spent the last two years coordinating the best defense in football. Along with Pete Carroll and defensive backs coach Kris Richard, Quinn helped mold the Legion of Boom and a powerful, versatile front seven into the most terrifying unit in the league.

Seattle played a 4-3 defense with heavy doses of Cover-3 under Quinn and his predecessor, current Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley. Atlanta was a 4-3 team for years, but made a switch over to the 3-4 last season, though they did vacillate back to some four-man fronts as well. They were, in NFL parlance, "multiple." It will be interesting to see if that philosophical change sticks or if Quinn, defensive coordinator Richard Smith and assistant head coach Raheem Morris take the team back to more of a pure 4-3 alignment.

Whatever Quinn decides on that score, he's lucky to have a terrific piece to work with in the secondary in cornerback Desmond Trufant. Trufant has been marvelous in his first two NFL seasons, displaying rare coverage skills and intercepting five passes. He graded out as the seventh (2013) and sixth-best (2014) cornerback in Pro Football Focus' position rankings since entering the league. Trufant is not exactly Richard Sherman -- nobody is -- but he is a good starting point and can be used in similar ways.

Manufacturing a pass rush will be of utmost importance for Quinn, though. Atlanta got less pressure than all but two teams last season, posting an Adjusted Sack Rate of just 4.5 percent, significantly below the league average. Ra'Shede Hageman is a starting point on the defensive line just as Matthews is for the offense, but he's a very raw player and one player does not a dominant line make. A talent infusion is sorely needed.

4. Path to the playoffs

Luckily for Quinn, he steps into a team in the easiest division in football to win. The NFC South was an abomination last year, easily the worst division in the NFL and possibly one of the worst ever. The Carolina Panthers won the division with a 7-8-1 record thanks to a Week 17 victory over these same Falcons.

The Panthers have holes all over their offense -- especially on the line. They're exiting salary cap hell and have money to spend for the first time in a while, but they too are in need of defensive talent, especially considering the likely departure of pass-rusher Greg Hardy. Meanwhile, as the Panthers emerge from their cap troubles, the New Orleans Saints are about to experience some of their own. The Buccaneers finished last year as the worst team in the NFL and have more problems to fix than just drafting a new quarterback.

With a few improvements on defense, the division could be there for the taking.