Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn Youth Michael Gallup Jersey , who have led the team to the playoffs the last two seasons, have signed three-year contract extensions.

The deals were announced Wednesday, a day before players report for training camp. Financial terms were not disclosed for the contracts, which will run through the 2022 season.

The new deals for Dimitroff and Quinn will leave the focus for the start of training camp on wide receiver Julio Jones, who is entering the third year of his five-year, $71.5 million contract. Jones has asked to have his deal renegotiated, but the team has said it won't offer Jones a more lucrative deal this year.

Jones is not expected to report on Thursday for Friday's opening day of camp. He would be Atlanta's first training camp holdout since 2009, when receiver Roddy White's weeklong absence ended with a new $50 million deal.

Dimitroff, hired in 2008, is entering his 11th season. Quinn is 32-21 in his first three seasons.

Owner Arthur Blank said the leadership team of Dimitroff and Quinn "has proven to be as successful as we envisioned back in 2015."

"I believe continuity in leadership is vital to achieving the highest levels of success in any organization and, with these extensions, we ensure these two leaders will be at the helm of our franchise for years to come," Blank said in a statement released by the team. "Their shared vision and long view plan has already delivered on a variety of levels and has positioned our team for success into the future."

The Falcons lost to New England in the Super Bowl following the 2016 regular season before losing to Philadelphia in the divisional round last season.

Dimitroff faces a new challenge with Jones after already reaching an agreement this offseason with quarterback Matt Ryan on a five-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $150 million.

With Ryan and Jones Blake Martinez Jersey Youth , the Falcons are expected to contend for a third straight playoff appearance.

"I am appreciative of the support and confidence that Arthur continues to show us as we strive to bring a championship to this city and our fans," Dimitroff said in the statement. "I am excited about where our team is currently as well as the outlook we have for the foreseeable future."

Jones, 29, caught 88 passes last season for 1,444 yards and three touchdowns. He earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection.

A holdout by Jones could threaten the team-first atmosphere stressed by Quinn as a key to his shared leadership with Dimitroff.

"The partnership we have formed over the last four years has continued to get stronger and our view for how we structure this team has become even more clear," Quinn said. "We are looking forward to the challenge in front of us, but I could not be more excited about continuing this journey with Thomas and the brotherhood."
Kevin Durant had a simple message for his critics: ”Thanks.”

Durant’s move to the Golden State Warriors, booed by many around the NBA, has unquestionably paid off for both the player and his team. Two years, two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs and almost certainly a new contract in the next few weeks after he and the Warriors decide on the best way to proceed.

He is often a man of few words, but Durant let his thoughts be known Friday night after the Warriors won their second consecutive title by finishing off a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. There was a rare openness to Durant in his postgame remarks as he let his detractors know that whatever they said when he left Oklahoma City for Golden State didn’t mean much then and means even less now.

”Former players and players now that got a lot to say about what I did, they know how I play Carl Yastrzemski Jersey ,” Durant said, his newest Finals MVP trophy standing just to his left. ”They know exactly what I bring. They know. They know. They understand when they get on the court with me or if they check up with me, they know what it is. So I kind of try to just stand on that. But I know what I bring to the game.”

Here’s what he brings to the Warriors: 26.4 points per game in this regular season, 29 points per game in the playoffs, a 43-point explosion in Game 3 that will go into NBA Finals lore and a triple-double in the series clincher to cap it all off.

But the criticism – which came from both current and former players when he joined the Warriors to form a superteam two summers ago – probably won’t stop, either.

Perhaps a coincidence, Durant’s former Oklahoma City teammate Russell Westbrook posted a video of himself singing along with an Ice Cube rap on Saturday morning – the message of the track being that someone had lost his or her edge. ”I saw it comin’; that’s why I went solo,” Cube rapped, as Westbrook mouthed the words. (Not long afterward, amid speculation that was directed to Durant, Westbrook added another post that said, ”Stop reaching.”)

Not everyone has a negative thought on Durant and his choices. Cleveland star LeBron James, who denied Durant a title when Miami beat Oklahoma City in 2012 David Ortiz Jersey , raves about Durant’s game.

”You knew he was built for greatness from the time that he was drafted,” James said.

The greatness can’t be questioned now. And if Durant going to Golden State hasn’t been great for league-wide parity, it has quite obviously been great for the Warriors.

They don’t really care about much else.

”K.D.’s been amazing these last two years, especially in the finals, and so deserving of back-to-back finals MVPs,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. ”I’m going to be his biggest fan in there with what he’s able to do. I think the biggest thing we appreciate in the locker room is, again, what everybody brings to the table and we kind of unlock the greatness out of each other.”

When it was all over Friday night, there was both an arrogance and a humility to Durant – both understandable.

The 29-year-old is on top of the basketball world, rich beyond his wildest expectations, with rings for both hands now and a hope that his game is only going to keep getting better.

Even in that moment, though, he remembered his roots.

Seat Pleasant http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jihad-ward-jersey , Maryland, is a little town just outside of Washington. It’s mostly black, mostly impoverished. There’s a lot of crime. There aren’t a lot of roads out of Seat Pleasant, unless you’re 6-foot-11 with an endless wingspan and an indefensible jump shot that’s as smooth as the golden basketball that sits atop the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

”I just feel indebted to the game,” Durant said. ”I feel like it saved my life. It changed my life. It took me out of an environment that I didn’t think I’d ever be out of, living in Maryland my whole life. I thought I was going to live in Maryland my whole life. But to travel the world and meet different people, and go to different arenas and different cities and countries around the world, I’m just forever grateful for this opportunity.”

That’s why he feels vindication, overcoming that.

Disproving doubters, disproving critics, that’s just a bonus.

”We all want something that’s bigger than ourselves,” Durant said of the Warriors. ”I think we love to see each other succeed. We love to come together and figure stuff out on the basketball court. … We finished it off with a championship. We’ve got a bunch of guys in the locker room that don’t care about anything but just being better basketball players every day and winning.”

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