If you ask five different insiders about Arthur Smith’s future in Atlanta, you’ll get five different answers on the Falcons head coach’s fate.
Before the Bears game, it was thought that his job was safe. Since the loss, every media pundit has a thought, feeling, or source on the situation. Half say he’s safe, the others say he’s as good as gone.
Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post took his turn, suggesting all signs point to Arthur Blank firing Arthur Smith this offseason. A pair of GMs believe Smith’s fate has already been sealed.
“I don’t care what anybody writes, Arthur Smith isn’t safe,” the first GM said. “He’s there for one more week.” The other GM said: “They can’t sell tickets, man. They have all these first-round picks on offense and they can’t score. He has to make a change. You can’t sell Arthur Smith anymore.”
Earlier in the week, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN shared his feelings that Smith was safe, at least that’s what people around the league believe, adding that Blank doesn’t “want” to make a move. Mike Garafolo added that Smith is on the shakiest of grounds.
Those closest to the Falcons believe he’s likely on his way out. “Now, it seems like the Falcons must make the playoffs and go on a run. Perhaps nothing short of a trip to the NFC Championship game likely would save Smith,” D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said about Smith’s job security.
The reality is that nobody knows anything. These are all sentiments. I’d even wager that the result on Sunday won’t change Arthur Blank’s mind. If you needed one more talking head to throw his report in the mix, here’s what Adam Schefter had to say.
“Blank is said to have gone back and forth, and to be torn, according to sources. He is a fan of coach Arthur Smith, one of the brighter offensive minds in the game, but that might not be enough for Atlanta to stand pat,” ESPN’s insider wrote.
What’s interesting is that Schefter added the club is looking at potential hiring options.
“The Falcons have been surveying the coaching landscape, mulling what options are out there should they decide to make a change, according to league sources.”
Oftentimes, college and NFL programs will fire a head coach before looking at the potential hiring pool and end up with a second-rate coach. Timing is extremely important in these sorts of things.
I could understand Arthur Blank going either way, but if you have to question whether Arthur Smith is the guy, you probably have your answer right there.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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