The Arthur Smith era ended yesterday when the Falcons became the first organization to move on from their head coach following the season finale. It was a tumultuous three-year ride, highlighted by three straight 7-10 seasons. Smith was never given a chance with a real quarterback under center, but he has nobody to blame but himself for that, which I imagine will lead to many sleepless nights in the near future.
Up next, Arthur Blank and Rich McKay will lead the Falcons search for a new head coach. Should that inspire confidence among fans? Absolutely not. A failed general manager and a desperate owner that have proven time and time again that they can’t get it done hiring a new coach ahead of a pivotal offseason is a nightmare scenario. Nobody should have confidence that the Falcons will get it right, but at least Arthur Blank is saying the right things when it comes to the process.
A lot of teams like to get ahead of the curb, throwing the most money at the hottest name available without doing their due diligence on all the potential candidates. Blank ensured fans yesterday, that’s not how the Falcons are going to do business this offseason. They are going to take their time during this process, evaluating all of their options until they feel confident in the guy they hire.
"We're moving. … But there is no timetable." Arthur Blank said the Falcons are very determined to go through this coaching search "in the right way."
"We will take as much time as we need to do this and do this correctly."
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) January 8, 2024
This is only the beginning of what’s set up to be a wild ride. The Falcons offseason began with a bang as they fired Arthur Smith. Expect no shortage of rumors surrounding who will be the next head coach, and when the Falcons finally decide on their guy, the focus will shift to the most important decision of the offseason — who will be the starting quarterback in Atlanta next season?
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Photographer: David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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