The environment is brutally competitive and ruthless. Only half of the National Football League (NFL) coaches can attain winning seasons. Arthur Smith, head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, was not in that winning half. Smith lost more games than he won in his last three seasons as head coach.
“The Atlanta Falcons are parting ways with head coach Arthur Smith after a disappointing NFL season that saw the Dirty Birds (the Atlanta Falcons) finish with a losing record and once again fail to make the post-season (playoffs). See related link: NFC South: Atlanta Falcons eliminated from playoffs
The departure of Smith was announced by the Falcons late Sunday evening. “In a release, the team said that they will begin their search for their next head coach immediately, though there is no timetable for filling the role.” The Atlanta Falcons have dismissed Arthur Smith as the team’s head coach “following a meeting tonight in Atlanta with Falcons Owner and Chairman, Arthur M. Blank, and the team’s CEO, Rich McKay,” the Falcons announced in a statement “posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.”
Smith reacted stoically, quoted as saying after the New Orleans game: “With any job, you got a lot of confidence, but I am not going to give a state of the union right now on everything that’s happened the last three years.” Smith added: “The season just ended. It wasn’t the result we needed today, and clearly the second half got out of hand. Credit to New Orleans.”
Smith was hired in 2021 after serving as an assistant coach with the Tennessee Titans. As reported, Smith’s firing comes after the Falcons finished the 2023-2024 season at just 7-10, placing third in the NFC South. In 2021 and 2022, the team’s records were also 7-10, placing the Falcons third and fourth in the NFC South. “The team also failed to claim a playoff spot, having not made a post-season appearance since 2017, when they made it to the Super Bowl.”