Falcons fans have been calling for head coach Arthur Smith‘s job over the last few weeks and team owner Arthur Blank finally obliged on Sunday evening. Smith was fired following his third consecutive 7-10 season, which was capped off by an ugly 48-17 loss to the Saints in Sunday’s finale.
Blank released a statement praising Smith for the positive things he did in Atlanta but also said he felt the product on the field had not lived up to expectations.
Fans on Twitter were happy to see the Falcons go in a different direction. Although, not everyone loved Rich McKay leading the coaching search.
The pain and suffering is over Falcons fans https://t.co/9AHuxOtBYW
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) January 8, 2024
Per the #falcons release:
The search for a new head coach of the Falcons will begin immediately. It will be led by Blank and McKay, with input from Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot, and several other appropriate members of Blank's Atlanta Falcons and AMB Sports and…— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 8, 2024
Full statement from Falcons owner Arthur Blank on the release of Arthur Smith as Atlanta’s head coach. pic.twitter.com/unhc9zUyoh
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) January 8, 2024
Thank you Mr Blank, this is a step in the right direction. #Falcons fans deserve much better. https://t.co/5c9qMxK3PV
— Atlanta Falcons Australia 🇦🇺🦘 (@ATLFalconsAus) January 8, 2024
what has Rich McKay done to prove he should still be involved with the football side of the business. he is nothing but an ego driven plague
— Tre'Shon (@tre3shon) January 8, 2024
Nevermind, back to reality folks. https://t.co/zxBvliwE9J
— jxke, esq. 🧸 (@cantguardjake) January 8, 2024
Arthur Smith when he saw that 12am outlook meeting come through his inbox pic.twitter.com/rn13NE3UNt
— Këv (@lemonpepperkev) January 8, 2024
I feel joy! https://t.co/obJBljyYPB
— kelsey orr (@kelseytayorr) January 8, 2024
RIP BOZO https://t.co/vLFiA6iJ2V
— Carlton (@CrispyCarlton) January 8, 2024
Ben Johnson.
Bijan Robinson.
Drake London.
Justin Fields.
Bijan Robinson again.
Let's do this. https://t.co/hSRrtpgiHb
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) January 8, 2024
Arthur Blank when the clock hits 0:00 pic.twitter.com/ximq2hTMnO
— Truth (@TruthFromATL) January 7, 2024
I’ll fix the Falcons rn:
-Give Ben Johnson lots of money to be your head coach
-Trade for Justin Fields
-Draft Brock Bowers
-Run a ton of 12 personnel with Bowers, Pitts, Bijan, and London on the field together and giggle your way to an NFC South crown— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) January 8, 2024
Arthur Smith's departure is unfortunate because, in a way, the guy was brought in to provide a quick turnaround using the pieces already in place, but due to unforeseen circumstances found himself trying to lead a rebuild with a young QB which was never (1/3)
— Nique (@therealpattman) January 8, 2024
Who y’all want for the next Atlanta Falcons head coach?
My choice: Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson pic.twitter.com/kHty3rshCy
— JazzyJeffRealTalk (@JazzyJeffRealT1) January 7, 2024
I loved covering Arthur Smith and his teams. Helped build a locker room of high-quality people, and Smith himself was very helpful to us on the media side. For all the vitriol he gets from fans, you won’t see many who work with him in person who have bad things to say.
— Joe Patrick (@japatrick200) January 8, 2024
I hope the Falcons hire #Texans OC Bobby Slowik.
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) January 7, 2024
https://t.co/NVwYLxHJMK pic.twitter.com/SzrWux5BgD
— Carlton (@CrispyCarlton) January 8, 2024
One thing I will say about the Falcons organization, Blank and McKay are going to be the face of something, but they are very cooperative guys. Just because they’re only “taking input” from Fontenot doesn’t mean that Fontenot has a quiet voice in the room. https://t.co/VJ4ALOm4TW
— 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒕𝒕 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒌 🐦⬛🏈🇬🇪🇺🇦🇱🇻 (@CarasikS) January 8, 2024
The Falcons have announced the firing of HC Arthur Smith. GM Terry Fontenot remains and, according to the team, will provide input into the coaching search.
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) January 8, 2024
Arthur Smith got fired pic.twitter.com/IyUqMg40Id
— Ichigoat(Strawhat Steve)🉐⛩ (@StrawHatSteve12) January 8, 2024
They gave him 3 whole seasons to prove his worth. He didn’t. So they fired him. https://t.co/ynHo5kVVjR
— 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒕𝒕 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒌 🐦⬛🏈🇬🇪🇺🇦🇱🇻 (@CarasikS) January 8, 2024
