Before Mike Smith was named the Falcons’ head coach back in 2008, then center Todd McClure was ready to retire.
The team appeared primed to fall back into oblivion after being relevant for parts of the Dan Reeves (1997-2003) and Jim Mora (2004-2006) years.
Smith, who took over after the 2007 season in which quarterback Michael Vick was sent to federal prison in a dogfighting scandal and Bobby Petrino quit after 13 games, was fired on Monday.
“It was awesome to go from what it was before with Petrino where I was ready to be done with football if he came back to Mike Smith,” said McClure, who played center for the Falcons from 2000 to 2012. “He came in with just a fresh mentality. He wanted to turn everything around. I think it was great for Matt (Ryan), too. A new staff, a new quarterback and we could kind of start fresh.”
Smith finished as the winningest coach in franchise history with a record of 66-46 (.589) and 1-4 (.200) in the playoffs.
But the Falcons were 10-22 over the past two injury-marred seasons.
“Injuries really played a factor in it all,” McClure said.
Some fans believe the Falcons’ woes runner deeper into the organization, to judge by fans’ cyberspace traffic.
“I’ll echo a familiar sentiment, problems with the Falcons performance go far beyond the head coach,” George Burgan emailed.
Tweeted Drew Flatford from Carrollton, “(Dimitroff) has to go; he’s had control of roster.”
Wide receiver Roddy White, defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, Ryan and cornerback Desmond Trufant all voiced support for Smith.
“Coach Smith is a helluva coach,” Babineaux said. “He made me into the player that I am today. He pretty much jump-started my career when he got here.”
Trufant, one of the teams’ bright stars, just finished his second season with the Falcons.
“The whole coaching staff believed in me,” Trufant said. “They brought me here as a first-round pick. They put me out there as a rookie. They let me learn and let me grow. I believe in them and they believe in me.”
Now, he’ll have to adjust to a new coaching staff.
McClure was an original member of Smith’s “Over 30 Club.” Players with tenure in the league, who were over age 30, had some special practice privileges.
“It was just a great atmosphere to be around,” McClure said. “I really enjoyed those five years.”
One of the hallmarks of Smith’s teams was that they played hard. For the first five years, the played near penalty-free football, a sign of good coaching and discipline.
“I just think it was the type of person that he was,” said McClure, when asked how Smith got his players to play so hard. “It was the type of atmosphere he created around there. If you look and talk to guys around the league, some coaches can just be hard to be around when things aren’t going good. Some coaches can always be positive.”
Smith, a former college linebacker, had a rugged and tough side that he hide from the public.
“There were times after games where Smitty wasn’t too happy,” McClure said. “But when the new week started and he was getting ready for the next week, he was able to flush it, move on and stay positive. I think that’s why guys reacted the way they did and played hard every week no matter the circumstances.”
The Falcons have already started their coaching search.
They have requested permission to interview Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase, Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Detroit defensive coordinator Terry Austin.
Falcons president Rich McKay believes the new hire will come into a much different situation than what Smith inherited.
“The franchise was really de-stabilized,” McKay said. “The franchise quarterback, who was the hero of the town was gone. The coach left. We were in a really tough spot.”
Smith emerged as the leading candidate and was hired to his first head-coaching position.
“He can’t get enough credit for a building that was really challenged, from a player side and organizational side,” McKay said. “Through his leadership and who he is, he really helped us create an environment that we are all happy to work in.”
The Falcons believe the new coach can build off of the foundation that Smith helped to create.
“We’ll look at different qualities since the foundation is very good and this person is not coming into a destabilized situation,” McKay said. “They are coming into a pretty good situation.
“We are very confident that we can compete for championships very quickly.”
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