Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith Leaves On A Low Note

In the opening hours of what many NFL fans call “Black Monday,” the day after the last regular season matchups of the season, the Atlanta Falcons announced the firing of head coach Arthur Smith after a meeting between owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay.

A few hours prior, Smith had the chance to take the Falcons to the playoffs, but ultimately fell short, as a 17-17 halftime score turned into a 48-17 loss against the New Orleans Saints.

“He has been part of building a good culture in our football team, but the results on the field have not met our expectations,” Blank said on Smith’s contributions and dedication to the program in his statement following the chairman’s meeting with McKay.

Smith’s cumulative record of 21-30 as the Falcons head coach is simply broken down to three consecutive 7-10 seasons. Failing to make the playoffs in each of these three years, Blank saw the need for change.

Smith left the field of his final game as the Falcons head coach visibly heated after Saints running back Jamaal Williams scored a controversial touchdown from victory formation in the closing minutes of the game.

“That’s not who we are. That’s not how we operate. We should have taken a knee. I want to apologize to them. We got a good rivalry, and it’s a heated rivalry, but there’s a way we go about doing our business and I wasn’t happy about that,” Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen said in a post-game press conference following Williams’ inconsequential touchdown. The Saints led 41-17 with less than 80 seconds to play, and there was no need for Williams to score.

When asked about Smith’s anger, Allen apologized. “He should be,” Allen agreed.

Smith was hired largely based on his offensive success in a prior job with the Titans, but he struggled the most with consistency in the quarterback position at Atlanta. He began his tenure at the Falcons in 2021 with a proven Matt Ryan who was traded to the Colts and then failed to achieve a winning season again in 2022 with inconsistent play from Marcus Mariota, who was thereafter traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Rookie Desmond Ridder and veteran Taylor Heinicke split time at quarterback this year but only produced an average of 18.9 points per game with the 26th-best offense in the league.

Despite missing out on the playoffs, Allen is expected to stay with the Saints, while Smith will join a pool of ‘free agent’ NFL head coaches, including former L.A. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, former Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera and others.