The Atlanta Falcons have signed off with Arthur Smith as the team’s new head coach, it was announced on Friday.
Smith has been the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans for the past two seasons.
38-year-old Smith replaces Dan Quinn, whom the Falcons sacked on October 11 after a 5-0 start along with General Manager Thomas Dimitroff. Raheem Morris took over as interim coach and led the Falcons to their only wins of the 2020 season on the way to a 4–12 overall record.
The Titans finished fourth in the league in the regular season, averaging 30.7 points per game under Smith. Tennessee finished the regular season averaging 396.4 yards per game, good for third place in the NFL. The Titan’s assault reached 168.1 yards per game, only that of the Baltimore Ravens (191.9 yards).
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Tennessee achieved a rare equilibrium under Smith. Derrick Henry’s 2,027 rushing yards were the fifth-highest total rushing total, and he was the eighth player to beat the 2,000-yard plateau. Titan receiver AJ Brown finished the race with 1,075 receiving yards, and teammate Corey Davis finished the season 16 yards from the 1,000-yard plateau.
Smith joined the Titans in 2011 as a defensive quality control coach. He then went on to work in several other roles in Tennessee, including an offensive quality control coach, offensive line assistant, and tight-end coach.
Smith also interviewed the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, New York Jets, and Philadelphia Eagles. The Jaguars hired Urban Meyer as their new head coach on Thursday.
Bears Passing game coordinator Dave Ragone is the favorite to join Smith as an offensive coordinator in Atlanta, ESPN sources said Jeremy Fowler.
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The Hawks had a remote interview with Smith on Monday before flying him to Atlanta for a second interview on Wednesday. The team also interviewed the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, and the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator , Nathaniel Hackett.
The Jets announced on Thursday evening that they had reached a fundamental agreement with Saleh to become their next head coach.
