Following an inexcusably embarrassing loss to the 1-12 Panthers, the Falcons find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoffs.
It’s the kind of defeat that sends heads rolling. One has already occurred, and more may follow after the season. Desmond Ridder has been benched, effectively ending his chances of ever starting again in the NFL unless an injury occurs. Meanwhile, Arthur Smith appears to be training for his new job over the next three weeks.
It’s difficult to tell how hot it is inside the building, but I believe Arthur Blank is looking for any reason not to fire Smith. If he is re-signed in 2024, there will be tremendous pressure to find a franchise quarterback and make tangible improvements this offseason.
Smith could still fail to demonstrate his worth over the next three games, forcing Arthur Blank to re-enter the hiring process. Your guess is as good as mine, but I think Smith will return in 2024.
Albert Breer was asked in his mailbag who he thinks will be the head coach and quarterback in Atlanta next year.
Initially, he provided context to a situation that required it, as Falcons fans appear to have forgotten where the club was a couple of years ago!
One, Smith and GM Terry Fontenot spent the first two years laying a new, younger foundation and cleaning up the salary cap—the Falcons carried over $60 million in dead money in 2022, which meant that more than a quarter of their cap space was dedicated to players who weren’t playing for them. So this is the first year that Atlanta has been free of that retooling.
Second, it feels like this team is one quarterback away, and I don’t disagree with Smith and Fontenot’s approach, which is to say they’d rather tread water at quarterback than go all in on a guy they’re not all in on (as was the case with quarterbacks in the draft and Lamar Jackson last year). They didn’t want to create strong feelings for a quarterback and end up with Christian Ponder in the first round.
I couldn’t agree more with Breer’s assessment and opinion on the Falcons’ quarterback search because, far too often, clubs reach for one in the draft due to ownership pressure. This happens all the time.
However, the regime is now in the same situation. If Smith is retained, there will be pressure to find a franchise quarterback, which may force Fontenot and Smith to make a decision they don’t fully support.
The roster is competitive; all it needs is a signal caller. Breer predicted who the Falcons’ head coach and quarterback will be in 2024 after a lengthy rant about the circumstances and reasonable questions Blank is asking himself.
Leave a Reply