FLOWERY BRANCH — Four years ago, only the well-informed football cognoscenti knew Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator on a first-name basis.
The unassuming Mike Smith would join the Falcons as the head coach in January 2008 and promptly become the first person to lead the franchise to three consecutive winning seasons.
But after winning the NFC South title and earning the No. 1 seed for the playoffs last season, Smith is eager to get the 2011 campaign underway.
The sooner the ball is kicked off in Chicago at 1 p.m. Sunday, the better. He wants to get the lingering bad taste from a loss to Green Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs and a long summer of NFL labor strife in his rearview mirror.
“I don’t like to talk about it,” Smith admitted.
Recently there was a T-shirt in the Falcons’ locker room showing the score (48-21) of the loss to Green Bay and the word “Unacceptable.”
“I don’t know much about the T-shirt,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “This is the first that I’ve seen it. For me, that’s kind of last year’s deal. Everybody was, at the time, disappointed with how it finished up.
“But you have to use those things the right way. You have to use it as motivation, you have to learn from it, and I think guys have done that. Now, we need to put that behind us and focus on Sunday.”
Smith has moved on. He would rather focus on the 2011 season and the promise it holds for the Falcons, who at least one pundit is picking to win the Super Bowl.
“I’m excited about Year Four because of the unfinished business from Year Three,” Smith said. “Each and every year brings new opportunities. We’ve got great opportunities this year in a way that we put together our offseason. I’m looking forward to seeing our guys go out and compete.”
The loss dropped Smith’s record to 0-2 in the playoffs. He has amassed a 33-15 regular-season mark and is closing in on Dan Reeves (49) and Leeman Bennett (46) for most wins in franchise history.
Only three other coaches, George Seifert (38-10), Chuck Knox (34-8) and Barry Switzer (34-14) have better records than Smith over their first three seasons in the NFL.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank honored Smith’s success with a three-year contract extension in February that runs through 2013.
“Smitty’s the total package,” Blank said. “He has strong leadership skills and experience and a track record to back it up. He’s a man of high character and integrity, and he’s highly respected by our players.”
After the Bobby Petrino experiment in 2007, the Falcons interviewed Rex Ryan, who went on take a job with the New York Jets in 2009. Blank also interviewed Leslie Frazier, who was named Minnesota’s head coach this offseason.
Most folks had heard of Ryan, because of his father is former NFL coach Buddy Ryan, and Frazier, a former player with the Chicago Bears. Smith had quietly put together a stellar resume in Baltimore and Jacksonville.
“When Mike joined us in 2008, he promised fans a hard-nosed, physical style of football — aggressive on offense and explosive on defense,” Blank said. “Smitty has delivered that — and then some.”
Smith has used a stern hand and clear messages to become the first person to lead the Falcons to three consecutive winning seasons.
But he wants more.
“I think that we’ve continued to add parts and pieces to the defensive side of the football,” Smith said. “We are very familiar with one another. I think we are a faster unit than we were last year. That’s one thing that we said, that we wanted to become a faster and more urgent unit. We wanted to help our pass rush. I think that we’ve addressed that as well.”
Defending the NFC South title will be the first step for the Falcons. But after two trips to the playoffs over the past three seasons, Smith appears to have the Falcons ready for a deep run into the playoffs.
Smith has a Super Bowl ring from his days as the linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens. He wouldn’t mind getting one to match it as a head coach.
“I want our football team to be known as a smart, aggressive, physically tough football team that is going to go out and compete every time that they step out on the field,” Smith said.
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