Gap between achieving and underachieving was much bigger: Falcons owner on sacking coach Arthur Smith

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank pointed out that there were not just one but many factors which led to him sacking head coach Arthur Smith late Sunday night. However, during a 90-minute long press conference, Blank stressed one particular point the most, i.e. Smith did not deliver on a vision of success and hope for the 2023 Falcons after spending two years rebuilding the side.

Blank stated, as quoted by ESPN, "The gap between achieving and underachieving was much bigger than what I anticipated this year 'in a variety of ways'."

It is to be noted that the Falcons finished 7-10 in Smith's third successive season, which was not well received by the now ex-boss. Under Smith, the Falcons managed a 21-30 record since his joining in 2021.

The only contrast for the Falcons this year was that the franchise was not digging out of a considerable salary cap hole. It had multiple years of its own players and significant money invested in free-agent signings. As a result, all this was enough for Blank to take a tough call against Smith. Moreover, he referenced the Falcons' records against teams with losing records in 2023 as "abysmal, honestly". The under-fire sidelost to the Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. All these teams, like Atlanta, have lost at least 10 games this season.

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Falcons CEO Rich McKay, however, commended Smith for being a good collaborator as a coach and providing "vision" to the scouting department. However, he also backed the team management's call to move past Smith as they needed to take some harsh calls toput the team in the best position to win.

"In this case, we felt like the change was necessary," McKay said. "To make sure that we compete in '24 at the highest level."