ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons are hiring a head coach for the second time since they hired defensive lineman Grady Jarrett in 2015, and Jarrett expects to have as much influence in this signing as he did in the last one.
Not much.
“These decisions are made in rooms where most players are not, so I don’t know how much influence I or any other player would have,” Jarrett said.
The men who will be in that room – team owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay – said Monday they would take their time looking for a replacement for Arthur Smith, who was fired late Sunday night.
“Ultimately, the final decision is mine, but it will be made in collaboration with others,” Blank said. “We have started the process. It won’t be long before it starts, but I want to make one thing clear: there is no timetable.”
Blank fired Smith after the team's regular season finale, a 48-17 loss to the rival New Orleans Saints that ensured the Falcons would miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Blank and McKay met with Smith for “a few hours, maybe a little longer” after the team returned to Atlanta. Blank and McKay met privately for a short time after that meeting and then called Smith to inform him of the decision.
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Smith, who led the team in scoring at 7-10 in each of his three seasons, has made no public comment since his ouster.
“It’s very painful when you have to make a change like that,” Blank said. “There’s a professional side to it and a personal side to it. Coach Smith is an extraordinary person who comes from an extraordinary family. Great men's leader, great family man, man of faith, man committed to the NFL. We have nothing but appreciation for Arthur. Aside from my personal pain for the coach and his family and for all coaches and their families, I want to tell you that professionally I believe this is absolutely the right thing to do because of our responsibility to our fan base and the players we have today Step was players that we will have in the future.”
Falcons CEO Rich McKay (left) and owner Arthur Blank discuss the decision to fire coach Arthur Smith on Monday. (John Bazemore/Associated Press)
The move was prompted by the team's belief that it had the necessary roster, draft capital and salary cap flexibility to be competitive next year, McKay said.
“I think we like the direction of the team and the direction of the franchise, but I think we need results and we need results sooner rather than later and we felt like we had to do that to get that done,” McKay said . “We intend to win and compete at the highest level in 2024. One of the reasons we made this move is this reason, and one of the reasons we believe we can do this is because of the work of Arthur and (general manager Terry Fontenot) and his staff.”
Fontenot, who was hired in the same season as Smith, was acquired and the Falcons have no plans to strip him of any responsibility, but left some wiggle room in case the next head coach is concerned with personnel control.
“The proposed structure would be what it is now depending on the head coach,” McKay said. “We don’t see the coach reporting to Terry, but Terry will take on the same role and be responsible for the staff. Will it be 50/50? That is our goal.”
Fontenot will be “heavily involved” in the search for a new coach, Blank said. Fontenot did not attend Monday's press conference because he was at the team's practice facility helping the coaching staff navigate the transition, Blank said. Blank spoke from his office in downtown Atlanta.
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Smith's firing was the result of several factors, according to Blank, who credited the coach with helping to reshape the team's roster and emphasized that Smith never lost the confidence of the players in the locker room. The two biggest sticking points for the owner appeared to be the team's quarterback play and performance against teams in the bottom half of the league. The Falcons, who started the season with the NFL's weakest playing strength, went 2-6 against teams that ultimately suffered defeat.
“Our record against losing teams this year has been, frankly, abysmal,” Blank said. “We lost a lot of games that we probably shouldn’t have lost.”
The team's problems at quarterback are well documented. Desmond Ridder, whom Smith trained as this season's full-time starter starting at the end of the 2022 season, finished the game with 12 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and 12 fumbles (seven lost).
“There was never any discussion about a quarterback path other than the one they took, and we supported it,” Blank said. “Our quarterback play has clearly been lacking this year. A lot of things play a role in whether a quarterback is successful or not.”
Blank said he doesn't think the Falcons made a mistake by not making a trade offer for Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson when the Ravens gave Jackon the non-exclusive franchise tag this offseason. Or at least he believed that the decision was made for the right reasons and wasn't worth thinking about again.
“Given the year he’s had, it’s easy to say yes. He’s obviously an incredible player,” Blank said of Jackson. However, “we didn't have the flexibility and the coach and HR felt we had an answer in Ridder, a younger player without such a contract, which would have prevented us from building the team we wanted to build. “You could argue whether he would have actually been available or not, but he is definitely a great player.”
An offer for Jackson never reached the level of a formal discussion for the Falcons, McKay said.
“We came out of cap rehab and had a good feeling about where cap rehab was going,” he said.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank called the team's quarterback play “poor.” Desmond Ridder's 19 ball losses in 15 games played a large part in this. (Dale Zanine/USA Today)
The upcoming hire will be Blank's sixth since purchasing the team in 2002. After leaving Dan Reeves, who was coach when the team was purchased, Blank hired Jim Mora Jr. (26-22 in Atlanta), Bobby Petrino (3-). 10), Mike Smith (66-46), Dan Quinn (43-42) and Arthur Smith (21-30). McKay has been involved in all of these searches in some capacity, first as general manager, then as team president and now as CEO.
The pair defended their hiring record on Monday, pointing out that Mike Smith became the winningest coach in team history and Quinn led the team to the Super Bowl. All of the hires had their highlights, McKay said, except for “one that I can't sleep at night because he was hired,” alluding to Petrino.
The Falcons have missed the playoffs in 14 of Blank's 22 seasons as owner.
“I don’t think our fans have lost faith in our franchise and our ability to succeed at the highest level,” Blank said. “They’re angry, they’re frustrated. I'm angry, I'm frustrated. I definitely think we fell well short of our expectations this year. I was clearly disappointed. That’s one of the reasons we’re here today.”
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, Ben Johnson , Ravens, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik are expected to receive at least temporary interest from the Falcons.
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McKay said the team plans to publicly announce all formal interviews after each interview is completed.
As the players cleaned out their lockers Monday morning, their thoughts were more on their former coach than their next one. Smith met briefly with the team earlier in the day.
He said “he's always there and his phone is always open for us and if he can help, he will,” cornerback Tre Flowers said. “I know he will come back. Winning settles everything and the way we've lost the last few doesn't surprise me, but since he's such a good coach I thought he'd get another chance. I believe in him with all my heart.”
The Falcons finished 26th in scoring this season (18.88 ppg), although Smith had an offensive background and used three consecutive top-10 draft picks on offensive players. However, none of these facts made Monday any easier for the players.
“He will do anything for the people he loves,” tight end Jonnu Smith said. “Unfortunately, sometimes this league doesn’t do the same in return. He’s just a great person, man.”
Arthur Smith had a particularly close bond with the offensive linemen in Atlanta. He played that position at North Carolina and always maintained his affinity for the big men up front.
“It's just hard to see a coach go that you respect and appreciate,” right tackle Kaleb McGary said. “I was definitely sad to hear the news and wish him all the best. I'm not in the front office; I don't know their processes; I’m just depressed to hear the news.”
Players interviewed Monday couldn't say why Smith's tenure in Atlanta didn't result in more wins.
“There are so many things at play, so many different variables,” Jarrett said. “I don't think it's just one thing, but I can tell you that everyone involved did their best. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough in the postseason to get us where we wanted to be. It’s a business we’re in and it is what it is.”
Jarrett and defensive end Calais Campbell are both hopeful that defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen could be taken over by the team's next head coach.
“I made my opinion of Coach Nielsen very clear,” Jarrett said. “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had as a defensive lineman. He did an excellent job of turning this defense around. He’s the type of guy who’s prepared for anything.”
Jarrett said he doesn't care whether the team hires a head coach with an offensive or defensive background.
“There are a million ways to skin a cat,” he said. “There’s not really a right answer. I know we want to win here, be in the postseason and play for championships. Ultimately, whatever it looks like, that’s what we want to achieve.”
(Top photos of Arthur Blank and Arthur Smith: Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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