FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons officially introduced Dan Quinn as their new head football coach on Tuesday, convinced they found the right man to reinvigorate the team’s sagging defense and put them back on the road to a championship.

Quinn, the defensive coordinator for NFC champion Seattle, and the Falcons had to wait until after the Super Bowl to make the final announcement. The club interviewed seven candidates, including former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, but Quinn was their go-to guy from the beginning.

“We felt so strongly that we stayed patient, rather than make a quick decision in a different direction,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who was able to meet with Quinn when the Seahawks had a bye week during the playoffs.

Blank said Quinn was smart, decisive and “has the desire to look for ways to get better.”

Quinn met with several other suitors during the off-week but told his wife Stacey that Atlanta was his location of choice.

“This felt like the right fit from the beginning,” Quinn said.

Quinn, 44, had been the defensive coordinator for the Seahawks the last two seasons and fashioned a unit that led the NFL in fewest points allowed in 2013 and 2014. Atlanta fans are hopeful that he can work similar magic.

The Falcons were a poor defensive team in 2014. They ranked last in yards allowed per game with 398.3 and gave up 26.1 points per game. That’s quite a contrast from Quinn’s defense in Seattle that ranked first in yards allowed (267.1), passing yards allowed (185.6) and points allowed per game (15.9).

“It starts with effort first,” Quinn said. “We’re going to be aggressive in the way we attack the football and we want to play as fast as we can possibly play.”

But Quinn won’t have the luxury of players like Seattle’s Richard Sherman or Earl Thomas on an Atlanta roster that features few highly regarded players.

There is perceived strength in the Atlanta secondary, where cornerback Desmond Trufant, a 2012 first-round pick, enjoyed a breakthrough season. But there are major problems at linebacker and defensive line, which had issues applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks and produced an NFL-worst 22 sacks.

“I can’t wait to get started with these guys,” Quinn said. “It comes back to effort first and the ability to get after the football. The scheme will be what features our players the best.”

Quinn keeps his philosophy simple. The scheme permits players to react and make a play, not go through a progression of mental checks before deciding what to do. That’s why he wants to evaluate the current roster rather than adopt the approach of starting with a completely new roster.

“My kind of guys play fast and play physical,” Quinn said. “It’s effort first. I can’t wait to connect with a number of guys here who are going to be a part of it.”

Quinn will have a solid quarterback to build offense around. Matt Ryan threw for 4,694 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2014, with receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White among the league’s elite. But there is not an established running back, tight end has been an issue since Tony Gonzalez retired and the offensive line is unreliable.

“I’m can’t wait to get connected with Matt,” Quinn said.

Quinn hired longtime friend and former Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris to be assistant head coach in charge of defensive backs. Kyle Shanahan is the new offensive coordinator and Richard Smith will be defensive coordinator.

Quinn retained four members of the former coaching staff: defensive line coach Bryan Cox, wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie and special teams coach Keith Armstrong. Wade Harman, a former assistant offensive line coach, will move over and work with tight ends.

The Falcons fired Mike Smith in December after the team went 6-10 and failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

Smith led the Falcons to five consecutive winning seasons and four playoff appearances to start his tenure, including the NFC Championship Game in 2012. But Atlanta was 10-22 the last two years and Blank decided to make a change and fire the most successful coach in franchise history (66-46).