Arthur Smith is the new head coach of the Falcons and one of the reasons he got the job was the work he did with quarterback Ryan Tannehill over the last two seasons.
Tannehill came to Tennessee as a backup after a rocky run with the Dolphins, but has been highly productive since taking over the starting job early in the 2019 season. Smith’s quarterback in Atlanta doesn’t have that same backstory and Smith told the team’s website that he won’t be coaching him the same way.
“Matt’s had a lot of success,” Smith said. “Matt’s the ultimate pro. He’s a great leader and there’s a lot of things he can do. I don’t get into comparisons. Just because we did something with Ryan doesn’t mean that we’re gonna do the same thing with Matt. We’re gonna play to Matt’s strengths just like we tried to play to Ryan’s strengths.”
Smith noted that the Falcons’ roster is going to look a lot different in the spring than it is going to look now and some have wondered if they’d consider moving Ryan to push the team in a new direction. Smith’s comments don’t rule that out, but it doesn’t sound like he’s planning an offensive overhaul either.