Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith is reportedly going to receive interest for at least one of the head coaching vacancies in the NFL.
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith will interview for at least one of the head coaching vacancies in the National Football League.
Smith was the winningest head coach in Falcons history before being fired after back-to-back losing seasons in 2014. In seven years as the Atlanta head coach, Smith compiled a 66-46 regular season record, taking the Falcons to the NFC Playoffs four times.
Smith was responsible for a third of the Falcons’ 12 playoff berths in franchise history. He led the club to five straight winning seasons, when the franchise had never had back-to-back winning seasons in team history. Atlanta won two NFC South titles (2010, 2012) and played in the 2012 NFC Championship game, losing to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the Georgia Dome.
A defensive-minded coach that had success both with the Baltimore Ravens and the Jacksonville Jaguars before coming to Atlanta in 2008, Smith is a great player’s coach whose mantra is all about winning the locker room. Questionable personnel decisions made with general manager Thomas Dimitroff led to a depleted roster and therefore a lost locker room in Smith’s final two seasons in Atlanta.
He should get another head coaching opportunity, as he was the best coach in the NFC for arguably half a decade (2008-12). If a team needs a serious culture shift, Smith would emerge as one of the better candidates out there, as he made the Falcons into a strong NFC contender for five years. He’s not a retread, he’s a good coach that deserves another opportunity in the National Football League.