Getty ImagesBlack Monday is here, and one of the first guys to be gone will be Falcons coach Mike Smith. Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, Smith is “absolutely done” after seven seasons with the team.
It’s hardly a surprise; owner Arthur Blank already has hired a search firm to find the next head coach.
Some will think that Smith lost his job once he lost Sunday’s NFC South championship game. But he likely was gone even if the Falcons had won on Sunday. He likely would have been gone even if the Falcons had won in the wild-card round.
Before Smith’s arrival, the Falcons had never had consecutive winning seasons. Smith led them to five in a row. But a 4-12 season followed by 6-10 has sealed Smith’s fate.
I would hope so. Time for the Cowher/Gruden rumor mill to start.
my guess is Rex Ryan gets the job in Atlanta.
Looked like a guy getting fired on the sidelines today.
Not sure if it’s entirely his fault. A few 13-3 seasons and the defense was a joke the entire time he was there. Is the defensive personnel really his fault? Truant looks like the only half decent player on their defense,vi can’t name any safety on their team.
Alright coach, but time to go, I guess.
After watching “Hard Knocks”, this is no surprise.
Mike Smith’s fall is certainly tied to the demise of “Matty Ice” who never lived up to his billing.
Does GM Thomas Dimitroff get to stay?
Just to clarify, the Falcons have had 5 consecutive seasons without a losing record.
Rise Up.
Samuel L. Jackson loves you all.
Bring in Rex Ryan, once NY fires him
Would be a solid place for Jimney Hardballs, but he only wants to coach California NFL teams.
He’ll do well somewhere else. He took that team out of a complete mess and helped them to be competitive for a long time.
Probably best for both the Falcons and Smith. He got them as far as he could. Considering the mess that he inherited from Petrino and Vick, I think he did a pretty fantastic job.
He should get another head coaching gig somewhere. Falcons should go after McDaniels (if Dimitroff sticks around), or Rex Ryan (since Blank apparently loved his interview in 2007.
“Before Smith’s arrival, the Falcons had never had consecutive winning seasons. Smith led them to five in a row.”
Think about that for a moment.
So basically, there’s about a 99% chance that whoever they hire next is going to suck, and make them wish they never fired Smith. Brilliant.
Better clock management and Smith remains employed. The search firm should look for a GM who drafts better talent. Both lines are loathe. (Aside from Matthews)
Hopefully Dimitroff will join him
Have to admit I’m somewhat glad this nightmare ended today…..even had they won today and won the wild card game against a crippled Arizona team, anyone can see this team has huge personnel holes and lackluster coaching…..no chance of beating a good team and making a playoff run. Best to start the rebuild with no illusions and higher draft picks.
Mike Smith was a good guy and a solid coach, but it was clear that he had reached the limits of his abilities…..hope he lands with a good team. As far as Dimitroff goes…..assuming he stays, he needs to find the right coach and have a big draft,, or we’ll be saying goodbye to him soon as well.
Big egg laid today by Atlanta. Wow from NFC #1 seed to garbage, I don’t understand what happened as they didn’t have big changes in the lineup.
I guess a change is better than a vacation.
Pretty sure almost everybody following football knew he was out even if he won today… winning a division with a losing record doesn’t erase the reality of the team.. Not to mention that weirdo arthur blank already had his search party going before the game.. My guess is that he’s becoming so senile that he completely forgot they had to play a game today
I am not sure I agree that the Falcons’ cleaning house is a “mistake”, as suggested in another post. but it does seem like Smith has had his run and I cannot see him as amHC candidate elsewhere.
I hope they hire someone with solid HC experience, preferably pro but a good, solid college HC experience would be ok. ideally an offensive guy and let the defensive be run by someone solid.
I think he will quickly be replaced by Todd Bowles. Perfect fit.
That’s a mistake. First time ever consistently relevant and you toss him aside?? Good luck coach!
First to be fired,mand he’ll likely be the first hired. Good coach and a class act.
Bring back June Jones for the run and shoot !
Grits Blitz !
DO IT.
(egg nog consumption DONE)
Do not agree with this. I would definitely give him a year or 2 longer to turn it around. Get a decent DC and some help on the O-line and they’re a contender again.
Rex Ryan -> Chicago Bears
Todd Bowles -> Atlanta Falcons
Dan Quinn -> New York Jets
David Shaw -> Oakland Raiders
Mike Shanahan -> San Francisco 49ers
Good guy, good coach, but at some point the message becomes stale. Smith was great for Atlanta. Easy to remember what it was like there, other than the Dan Reeves playoff run Atlanta never had consistency. Smith will land somewhere in some capacity and make that team better.
Geez, his team almost won a division in 2014 !!
As a long time falcon fan I hate to see him go after being the first coach in franchise history make this team a winner.
I believe he got the short end of the stick. The GM did not give him depth on either line,linebacker or corners. It’s time for Rich McKay to be gone as well
Kinda sucks that they hired a search firm BEFORE the game to get them into the playoffs…
…sabotage things much, Arthur?
Mike Smith made the Falcons relevant for the longest stretch of any coach in their 48-year history. For that, he should be commended. He’s a good man, a solid coach, and he should be treated with respect. But let’s not feel too sorry for these fired coaches: it’s not like they’re being sentenced to Alcatraz. They all get paid infinitely better than most all of us. Mike Smith doesn’t have to work another day of his life if he so chooses.
More changes are needed, not just Smith. He’s the fall guy for a talent deficient team.
Blank is the root of the problem (Reeves, Mora & Petrino), but since the owner isn’t going anywhere, I hope that the consulting firm will convince him that Dimitrov & the scouting team need to go as well.
Thanks to Smitty, he wws the right guy for the post-Vick seasons.
Bye Felicia
Black Monday? Uh oh.
Regards,
Riley Cooper
tough break. next stop he needs to work on his clock management.
Nooooooooooo
#savesmitty
This is a post that should have been posted last year or maybe even the year before that. Nice guy , not a good head coach. Doesn’t adjust to teams when they adjust to his. Goodbye!!
Thanks Mike for seven years of service. As you and your coaching staff prepares for the next chapter in life, we The Falcons Fans wish you well.
Best of luck in the future Coach Smith, thank you for what you did do for the Falcons, five back to back winning seasons which made the Falcons viable as a team, they’re not the joke of a team they used to be. You helped make this town proud of their Falcons and for that I thank you.
Panthers fan here…Mike Smith is a great coach and this decision doesn’t make sense to me. He will end up with another team very quickly. Good luck, Mike! You made Panther fans nervous every week!
Atlanta’s answer to John McCain (complete with the anger management needs and throbbing neck veins) finally had his luck run out.
He reminds me a lot of Mike Sherman when he was the Packers coach. Loads of talent, wins, division championships, but diddly squat in the playoffs. That doesn’t cut it for long.
Ohhhh poor Falcons their coach is getting fired. Wahh, wahh, boo, hoo…… But hay look on the bright side, you guys won your personal Super Bowl, Y’all beat the Saints not once, but twice. Congrats on a successful season……
He’s too soft as a coach
One of the biggest mistakes was not filling the TIGHT END position. Injuries on defense at key positions never gave this team a chance to blossom during the year.
What a shame. LOL!
Terrible game day strategist.
They hired a new cleaning crew as well, the bird is dirty.
I always wondered what the GM was saying to the owner during games when the TV camera focuses on those two sitting side-by-side in the booth. Maybe it would be a different headline if the coach was sitting next to the owner during the draft. Who’s idea was it to give away the farm for Julio Jones? The Steelers have two good WRs that they drafted in rounds 4 and 6. How much are they paying Matt Ryan? He’s decent but he’s not a top QB. Kind of like Jay Cutler. And this is Mike Smith’s fault? Wow!
arthur blank is an idiot, one who doesnt deserve to own a team. first he demands a new stadium and now he fires the one coach who has had consistent success. just show money doesnt equal intelligence
As he should be. Anyone catch Hard Knocks? What a WIMP!
I don’t think Hard Knocks did him any favors… looked clueless throughout the series
Not exactly sure what happened in Atlanta. As a transplant to Georgia, all my prior exposure to the team was on the national level. However, it seemed the Falcons were building a quality franchise. They had their franchise QB, and a quality receiving core.
I know the Defense was a point of contention. I believe the offensive line needed some work. With that said, how many teams in this league wouldn’t benefit from an upgrade on their O-line? Just not sure what caused the wheels to fall off this team so quickly.
the started a backup TE at Right Guard …every body shouldve been fired when they did that.. smh
This firing would be a bit of a shame.
He really didn’t have much to work with. There was a loss of talent on both lines.. that hasn’t been replaced.
He’ll be one of the first coaches hired somewhere else…
cant trust a man that wears tevas to lead anybody
I pity the poor coach that takes over. Ownership is absolutely sold on “Matty Ice” but with the players around him including probably the finest receiver in the game, his continued inability to get it done shows that despite big time statistics, the guy is not a winner. He is the Matt Schab of the NFC. Two pick sixes in, basically, a championship game. This guy finds a way to lose.
I really appreciate what Mike Smith accomplished in his first 5 years here in Atlanta. Good luck with your future endeavors.
As soon as Rich McKay goes back to being GM, the Falcons will be worthwhile.
All he did at the Bucs was build a championship squad and all he did with the Falcons was put together an NFC champ. In both cases, the last piece of the puzzle was the coaching. Tampa got lucky with Dungy then Gruden, Atlanta just missed with Smith.
Seriously, the Falcons’ issue right now is a lack of talent at key positions and McKay just seems to have that knack for acquiring it.
Big egg laid today by Atlanta. Wow from NFC #1 seed to garbage, I don’t understand what happened as they didn’t have big changes in the lineup.
I guess a change is better than a vacation
—————–//-///—
Where have you been????? Falcon personnel was gutted 2 years ago