BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta Falcons fire head coach after third straight season without reaching NFL playoffs With NFL revealing who next on Managerial shortlist

The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith on Sunday night, just hours after completing the team’s third consecutive losing season.

Smith, the 41-year-old son of FedEx founder Fred Smith, finished 7-10 in each of his three seasons, failing to break the rebuilding team’s playoff futility.
The Falcons’ 48-17 loss at New Orleans was the Falcons’ second consecutive lopsided defeat, following a 37-17 loss at Chicago.
Since their previous postseason participation in 2017, the Falcons have had six straight losing seasons.

Smith joined the Falcons in 2021 after a decade as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, where he rose to become offensive coordinator.

Smith didn’t face much criticism following his first two losing seasons in Atlanta, which was dealing with huge salary cap concerns after trading away two franchise stalwarts: quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones.

Owner Arthur Blank made it clear that he expected nothing less than the team’s first trip to the playoffs since 2017 after a free-agent spending spree to improve the defense and using three consecutive top-10 draft picks on offensive playmakers Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson.
Smith, on the other hand, never got consistent quarterback play this season, going back and forth between Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke.

When asked about his job status following the Saints loss on Sunday, Smith responded, “Sure, as I’ve said many times, we know the industry that we’re in.” I enjoy what I’m doing. Also, as I’ve often stated, this is the industry in which we work. I enjoy coaching. I would have liked to have won today. We obviously did not.”
“These guys have been such a privilege to work with,” Smith remarked when asked what he told his players. They worked incredibly hard during the season. To clearly fall short… I appreciate them tremendously. “I enjoy coaching this team.”

Some players spoke out in Smith’s defense.

“I absolutely love coach Smith,” right guard Chris Lindstrom said. “I adore the team. I realize we didn’t win as many games as we should have this year. But I believe that the foundation of what this locker room is laying the groundwork for a lot of wonderful things to come.”

Despite having one of the league’s easiest schedules, such amazing things did not happen in 2023. The fan base turned against Smith after a 9-7 loss to the NFL’s poorest team, the Carolina Panthers, in Week 15, an opponent with a 1-12 record and an interim coach.

“The job is to win games and get into the playoffs,” Smith admitted. “Definitely a tough pill to swallow.”
The failure to resolve the quarterback position when Ryan – Atlanta’s starter since 2008 – was traded to Indianapolis during Smith’s first season was Smith’s biggest flaw.

Journeyman Marcus Mariota struggled for much of the 2022 season before the Falcons resorted to Ridder for the final four games.

Ridder, a third-round draft pick, was named starter entering into his second season, and the squad appeared to be on the right track following a 2-0 start.

However, the rookie quarterback struggled with turnovers, prompting Smith to switch to Heinicke in early November. After two losses with Heinicke as the starter, the Falcons went to Ridder once more, with the coach stating that he didn’t want to keep going back and forth.
Then there was the loss to the league’s poorest team on a rainy day in Charlotte in front of a mostly empty stadium.

With a 7-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Ridder led a possibly game-winning drive deep into Carolina territory, only to throw a pass so ill-advised that it was difficult to determine which receiver he was attempting to hit.

Carolina intercepted the pass and drove nearly the length of the field to milk the remaining time on the clock, scoring a chip-shot field goal as time expired.

The defeat dropped Atlanta out of a three-way tie for first place in the NFC South and effectively ended Smith’s career. Fans took to social media to demand that Blank “#FireArthurSmith,” claiming that Smith was only hired because of his millionaire father’s relationship with the Atlanta owner.

Ridder was benched once more, with Heinicke resuming the starting spot before being sidelined on Sunday due to an ankle ailment. Following a great first half that included two touchdown passes, Ridder threw an interception and lost a fumble in the second half.