FLOWERY BRANCH – 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 on 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 on Sunday, and he turned down the AJC’s request for an interview on Monday.
The Falcons have a 6-8 record and went 7-10 in each of his first two seasons under Smith. The Falcons are set to host the Colts (8-6) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons 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 were banking on quarterback Desmond Ridder to get the ball to the offensive weapons, which had been taken 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 (general manager) 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 burden in 2022. Blank was clearly expecting more in 2023 and a possible return to the playoffs.
“I think we are moving in the right direction,” Blank said. “This year I expect our team to be even more competitive, if you will, with the emphasis on the defensive side of the ball during free agency and somewhat during the draft, but primarily in free agency.”
The Falcons were sitting at 6-6 with a chance to open a two-game 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.
And then the unthinkable -- the road loss against a Carolina team which entered with a 1-12 record.
So, what about the playoffs? The Falcons currently sit as the 10th seed in the NFC and with only seven teams advancing to the postseason in the conference, they have a playoff probability of 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. Just go win this game and then we’ll see what happens.”
After quarterback Desmond 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. “Met with the quarterbacks just a minute ago before coming in here for my media obligations. I’ll circle back to those guys, but there is some stuff that we still need to work through.”
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. “There is a great responsibility and that’s what you sign up for. There’s a lot that goes into that and there is also a lot that needs to go right around the quarterback, too.”
Smith and the new regime appears to have fumbled the transition away from quarterback Matt Ryan. The former league MVP was traded before the 2022 season after the franchise failed to make a deal with Houston for Deshaun Watson.
The Falcons signed Marcus Mariota in the wake of the Ryan trade and then he left after he was benched with four games left in the 2022 season. Ridder went 2-2 as a starter and that was enough to win the starting job.
Ridder’s struggles with turnovers led him to being benched during the eighth game of the season against Tennessee. After sitting out two games, he was returned to the starting position after the bye week. The Falcons beat the Saints and the Jets, before dropping their last two games.
“We are working through it, but we ultimately have to make the best decision for this team so we can go win this game Sunday against Indianapolis,” Smith said.
Also, the Falcons’ defense has given up game-winning drives to the Vikings, Cardinals, Bucs and Panthers.
“We had our opportunities,” Smith said. “That’s what’s happened the last eight days. We’ve been back and forth this season. We had a great opportunity, but unfortunately 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. But there is …you know…that’s on us. It’s not anybody else’s fault, but our own.”
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