Arthur Smith, who inherited a rebuilding challenge in his first NFL head teaching job and didn’t elevate Atlanta from its playoff drought, was fired late Sunday evening, hours after finishing his third season with the Falcons.
Smith, the 41-year-old son of FedEx founder Fred Smith, went 7-10 in every of his three seasons. The Falcons’ 48-17 loss at New Orleans was the second consecutive lopsided defeated that sealed Smith’s destiny, following a 37-17 loss at Chicago.
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The Falcons have posted six straight dropping seasons since their final playoff look in 2017.
Smith was employed by the Falcons in 2021 after a decade-long stint as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, shifting as much as turn into their offensive coordinator.
Arthur Smith by no means received a dependable QB
Smith did not really feel a lot warmth after his first two dropping seasons as Atlanta handled main wage cap points after buying and selling away two long-term stalwarts of the franchise: quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones.
The expectations on Smith grew immensely this season, with proprietor Arthur Clean making it clear he anticipated nothing lower than the staff’s first journey to the playoffs since 2017 after a free-agent spending spree to enhance the protection and utilizing three straight top-10 draft picks on offensive playmakers Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson.
However Smith by no means received dependable quarterback play, switching backwards and forwards between Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke this season. His last spotlight in Atlanta can be screaming on the Saints coach.
