Arthur Smith Agrees to Become Atlanta Falcons New Head Coach

Arthur Smith Agrees to Become Atlanta Falcons New Head Coach

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16:55 ET

  • Turron DavenportESPN

    Near

    • Covered Eagles for USA Today
    • The Ravens Covered for Baltimore Times
    • Played college football at Cheyney University

The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to become the team’s new head coach with Arthur Smith, it was announced on Friday.

Smith has served as an offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans for the past two seasons.

Smith, 38, replaces Dan Quinn, who sacked the Hawks on Oct. 11 along with general manager Thomas Dimitroff after a 0-5 start. Raheem Morris took over as interim head coach and led the Hawks to their only victories in the 2020 season en route to an overall 4-12 record.

The Titans finished fourth in the league on the points ladder during the regular season, averaging 30.7 points per game under Smith. Tennessee finished the regular season with an average of 396.4 yards per game, good for third place in the NFL. The Titans’ offense averaged 168.1 yards per game, just second to the Baltimore Ravens (191.9 yards).

Tennessee achieved a rare balance under Smith. The return of Derrick Henry’s 2,027 yards was the fifth best chase total ever, and he became the eighth player to cross the 2,000-meter plateau. Titans receiver AJ Brown finishes with 1,075 receiving yards, and teammate Corey Davis finishes the season at 16 yards less than the 1000 plateau.

Smith joined the Titans in 2011 as a quality control coach; Thereafter, he served several other roles in Tennessee, including offensive quality control coach, offensive line assistant and coach.

Smith also interviewed the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. The Jaguars appointed Urban Meyer as their new head coach on Thursday.

Dave Ragone, a passing game coordinator, is the favorite to join Smith as offensive coordinator in Atlanta, sources told Jeremy Fowler, ESPN.

The Hawks had a distance interview with Smith on Monday before flying to Atlanta on Wednesday for a second interview. The team also interviewed Kansas City Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense coordinator Todd Bowles, San Francisco 49ers defense coordinator Robert Saleh, Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and offensive coordinator Green Bay Packers coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

The Jets announced Thursday night that they have agreed in principle with Saleh to be their next head coach.

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