Atlanta reached an agreement with the coach, who has been the Titans’ offensive coordinator for the past two years
The Atlanta Falcons named Arthur Smith as their new head coach, Announced the team through a statement.
Smith has been the Tennessee Titans ’offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, where he helped revive quarterback Ryan TANNEHILL’s career, winning the 2019 Return of the Year Award.
Smith, 38, will replace Dan Quinn, who was fired by the Falcons alongside general manager Thomas Dimitroff on Oct. 11 after a 0-5 start. Raheem Morris took over as head coach and led the Falcons to their only victories of the 2020 season on their way to ending an overall 4-12 record.
We have agreed pacts with Arthur Smith to become our next head coach.
– Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) January 15, 2021
The terms of Smith’s agreement with the Falcons were not disclosed.
The Titans placed fourth in the league in points scored during the regular season, averaging 30.7 points per game under Smith. Tennessee finished the regular season averaging 396.4 total yards per game, finishing third in the NFL. The Titans’ ground attack recorded 168.1 yards per game, behind only the Baltimore Ravens (191.9 yards).
Tennessee got a strange balance with Smith. Runner Derrick Henry’s 2,027 ground yards were the fifth-highest in history and he became the eighth player to cross the 2,000-yard barrier. The Titans ’open receiver, AJ Brown, finished with 1,075 yards received, while teammate Corey Davis finished the season 16 yards from the 1,000-yard barrier.
Smith joined the Titans in 2001 as a quality control coach on the defensive; since then he has worked in multiple positions in Tennessee, including offensive quality control coach, offensive line assistant and closed-wing 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.
The Falcons had a remote interview with Smith on Monday before receiving him in Atlanta for a second interview Wednesday. The team also interviewed Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles; the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh; the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, Joe Brady; and Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
The Jets announced Thursday night that they had reached an agreement with Saleh to be their next head coach.