Arthur Smith’s tenure as Atlanta Falcons coach has ended, the team announced late Sunday night. Needing to finish the season with sound optics, the team was drubbed by the Chicago Bears and then the division-rival New Orleans Saints in back-to-back weeks.
The postgame coaches handshake following the Saints game devolved into an airing of grievances, with Smith chastising New Orleans coach Dennis Allen for a fake kneeldown score at the end of the game (a player audible for which Allen would later apologize). While Smith’s anger was justified, his temperament was again the grist for social media fodder. Smith has had moments of brilliance in Atlanta, but struggled to find both the public command and consistent success owner Arthur Blank had envisioned when he signed Smith to a six-year contract in 2021. Whether Blank and general manager Terry Fontenot supplied him with the proper tools to do so, namely a quarterback, is up for debate.
But the timing and reasons behind Smith’s ouster should provide some context clues for those wondering what the Falcons might do next. Just weeks ago, it seemed Blank was content with allowing his long-term rebuilding strategy, which included waiting out the final year of the Matt Ryan era and the sustaining of Ryan’s debilitating, $40 million-plus dead-cap hit, to run its course. Now, the owner, who will be 82 early in the 2024 season, seems to be eying a quicker solution to end the team’s streak of seasons with a losing record, which stands at six.
