The Atlanta Falcons will join the soon-to-grow list of teams that will be searching for a new head coach this offseason. Atlanta capped off a wildly frustrating season in which they went 7-10 despite arguably the easiest schedule in football with a 48-17 blowout loss to the rival New Orleans Saints in which they allowed 31 unanswered points in the second half and the offense imploded on itself (as it has far too many times this season). The game ended with Smith cussing out Saints head coach Dennis Allen for running the score up late — something that ended up being a rogue call by Jameis Winston and the Saints offense.
The team did not waste any time making a decision on Smith, as word broke at 12:02 a.m. ET on Monday that the Falcons were firing their head coach after three seasons at the helm — winning just seven games in all of them.
The Atlanta Falcons have dismissed Arthur Smith as the team’s head coach following a meeting tonight in Atlanta with Falcons Owner and Chairman, Arthur M. Blank, and the team’s CEO, Rich McKay https://t.co/Qrjuq4klH4
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) January 8, 2024
Smith was brought in to figure out how to make the Falcons offense more dynamic, but after a promising year running the ball in 2022, they regressed in 2023 despite investing a third straight top-10 pick on a skill position player — running back Bijan Robinson. Falcons fans (and the greater fantasy football community) have been driven insane by Smith’s playcalling and player usage, as he routinely used the guys expected to be in starring roles as decoys, getting the ball to lesser known names. That would be fine if it worked, but the Falcons were 26th in the NFL in points per game this year, with serious issues finishing drives in plus territory and the red zone.
Firing Smith is just the start of what should be some major changes in Atlanta, as while he was the focal point of frustrations for many, he is far from the only one deserving blame. Atlanta had a clear deficit at the quarterback position coming into the year but publicly stated they had no interest in pursuing Lamar Jackson (who has gone on to have an MVP-type season in Baltimore) and rode with Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke to rather miserable results. They did see serious defensive improvements, but that only served to highlight the offensive ineptitude and raised frustrations with this year’s performance. Now, one would expect a new head coach and a new quarterback to be the top priorities in Atlanta this offseason, with a bit of mystery about where they’ll go to fill each of those spots.
