Falcons’ Henning Sticking to Business and Still Improving

A large box of chocolates arrived on the desk of Atlanta Falcons Coach Dan Henning early last week, express mail from his old boss, Joe Gibbs. That Atlanta had just beaten the Dallas Cowboys, 37-35, was of immeasurable value to both men, at the expense of Tom Landry.

Yet, there was a much deeper meaning to the gift: not only were the Falcons and Redskins unbeaten (they still are), but so were the University of Maryland, where Dan Henning Jr. is quarterback, and Oakton (Va.) High School, where J.D. Gibbs is quarterback. “At the same time last year,” Henning said, “we were 0-3, Joe was 1-2, his son was 0-3 and my son wasn’t even playing. We were just sharing our good fortune.”

The biggest surprise in this National Football League this season is not that Dan Henning Sr. now is 4-0. The biggest surprise is that Dan Henning Sr. is 4-0 and is still head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. “Just sticking to business,” Henning said, “and getting better.”

Of course, that’s just the surface view. Four straight wins have built a callus over 1983 through 1985, changing the Falcons’ beat from sad, sober blues to pure Manilow. “Now is the time for payback. You gotta ride the wave,” said center Jeff Van Note, a gray 40-year-old who has seen the riptide pull the Falcons out to sea more than once in the past 18 seasons.

But make no mistake about this: Dan Henning Sr., 44, has been through the wringer. Henning had quarterbacked the Norfolk Neptunes of the Continental League in the mid-’60s and, for one year of the mid-’70s, he left football and served as the resident manager of a security company at the World Trade Center in New York. (“I carried a gun,” he said, “and used it to beat roaches.”) But nothing, absolutely nothing, tested his survival instincts more than 1983 (7-9), 1984 (4-12) and 1985 (4-12).

By the end of last season, Henning’s three-year record in Atlanta was 15-33, his contract had expired and nobody was sending him chocolates. The team’s front office, meanwhile, was reshuffled in the offseason. The general manager, Tom Braatz, had his role reduced, and executive vice president Eddie LeBaron was fired and replaced by Taylor Smith, 33-year-old son of the owner.

And the rumors started: “ . . . Henning to be fired and to return to the Redskins as an assistant. . . . Henning to be fired and to become an offensive coordinator when Richie Petitbon becomes New Orleans head coach. . . . “ And so on.

Falcons owner Rankin Smith Sr. reportedly wanted Henning removed after last season, but his two sons, club president Rankin Jr. and Taylor, held firm.

Now, Taylor Smith says, “It came down to the point where we like everything about Dan Henning except his won-lost record . . . Rankin (Jr.) and I were taking over the day-to-day operations. (Rankin Sr.) thought maybe it would be better if, when we were taking over, we had a fresh start. Maybe he wasn’t thinking so much about getting rid of Dan, but just about the best way to get a fresh start. He saw how committed we were to Dan, though.”

So Henning was given a one-year extension--which is to say, some mighty short rope. Publicly, Henning responds to his job insecurity with the stiff-upper-lip approach, saying, “I don’t think I came close (to being fired) at all.”

Atlanta kicker Mick Luckhurst said, “Look at Tom Landry and other coaches around the league. They all had tough starts. You have got to let a guy mold his personality into a team. You have got to give him a chance.”

About the first thing Henning did to correct his team’s grievous flaws was to hire Marion Campbell, Philadelphia’s cashiered head coach and a former head coach of the Falcons. Campbell was hired to revive a defense that suffered numerous injuries last season in addition to suffering the ultimate insult, yielding a league-worst 452 points.