The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coach Smith hears the calls for his job
Replacing Ridder at QB again among possible changes.
After Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Panthers, Falcons coach Arthur Smith acknowledged that he’s heard the calls for his job.
“That’s what you sign up for, right?” the third-year Falcons coach said Monday. “I don’t mean that to sound like bravado, but you want these jobs. You deal with the consequences.”
Falcons owner Arthur Blank did not want to comment on Smith’s future after the game Sunday, and he turned down The Atlanta Journal-constitution’s request for an interview Monday.
The Falcons have a 6-8 record and went 7-10 in each of the first two seasons under Smith. The Falcons are set to host the Colts (8-6) on Sunday and need to win the final three games of the season to avoid their third straight losing season under Smith — and sixth straight overall.
Expectations were high entering the season after the franchise spent heavily on defense in free agency and was banking on quarterback Desmond Ridder to get the ball to the offensive weapons selected high in the last three drafts.
“This is the third year of a three-year plan,” Blank said in August. “I think what I see, what I like a lot, is that coach Smith and (GM) Terry Fontenot laid out a very careful, thoughtful kind of methodical plan of what they were going to do with the roster, going back several years now. I think they’ve been very disciplined.”
Blank was fine with the 7-10 campaigns as the new regime purged the roster and played with a heavy salary cap burned in 2022, but he was clearly expecting more in 2023 and a possible return to the playoffs.
The Falcons were 6-6 with a chance to open a twogame division lead with five games to play, before facing Tampa Bay. The Falcons blew a fourth quarter lead in a 29-25 home loss to the Bucs. Then came a road loss against a Carolina team that entered with a 1-12 record.
The Falcons currently sit as the 10th playoff seed in the NFC and with only seven teams advancing to the postseason in the conference, they have a playoff probability of just 7%, according to The New York Times’ playoff simulator.
“We’re not where we want to be,” Smith said. “We’ve lost some close games, but it’s not over. We will die trying to make sure that we get this right.”
After Ridder tossed an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Carolina’s Xavier Woods, the Falcons are considering benching him for the second time this season. “Not final, still working through that,” Smith said. Ridder has tossed 10 interceptions and has been credited with 11 fumbles. “You have to evaluate everything as you are going back through the film,” Smith said.
Smith and the new regime appear to have fumbled the transition away from quarterback Matt Ryan. The former league MVP was traded before the 2022 season. The Falcons signed Marcus Mariota in the wake of the Ryan trade, and he left after he was benched with four games left in the 2022 season. Ridder went 2-2 as a starter last season and that was enough to win the starting job.
Ridder’s struggles with turnovers led him to being benched during the eighth game of this season against Tennessee. After sitting out two games, he returned to the starting position. The Falcons beat the Saints and Jets before dropping their last two games. The Falcons’ defense has given up late game-winning drives this season to the Vikings, Cardinals, Bucs and Panthers.
“We had our opportunities,” Smith said. “We’ve been back and forth this season. We ... lost two games in eight days and it’s been different, but we had chances to go win them. We didn’t get it done . ... That’s on us. It’s not anybody else’s fault, but our own.”