Writing that a coach should be fired never brings any pleasure. Even if the guy’s the worst coach in the world, he’s still a guy trying to do a difficult job and provide for his family. That I’ve come to believe that Mike Smith should be fired is doubly sobering, seeing as how he was a very good coach and remains a world-class guy.
We saw the latter part here Monday, when Smith opened his weekly briefing — 10 minutes early, no less; he seemed eager to say what he wanted to say — by admitting he’d messed up the final 55 seconds of Sunday’s beyond-belief loss to Cleveland. After a night of “analyzing,” he said, “I would have done some things differently.”
Then: “I didn’t do my best to help us win.”
Then: “I didn’t do my job as head football coach to put the guys in the best position to win.”
It takes a big man to say those words, the kind of man that, in a perfect world, you’d want coaching your team. The Falcons’ circumstances have become so dire that it’s hard to see any way Smith could/should remain in place beyond January. (And yes, that’s even if this team wins the awful NFC South and loses in Round 1 of the playoffs.)
The Falcons stopped advancing the moment NaVorro Bowman thwarted the fourth-down pass to Roddy White in the NFC title game. (The Falcons will forever believe that Bowman interfered with White, and they laughed sardonically when, at the NFL meetings, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh complained about a penalty that went uncalled against his team in the Super Bowl.) That was Jan. 20, 2013. Everything since has been a regression.
The 2013 Falcons were 4-12. They’re 4-7 now. Their past two losses came on last-second field goals made possible by misuse of the clock. There’s no need to rehash the details of the failures against Detroit in London and Cleveland in the Dome. There is, however, reason to note that Smith has become what no coach can afford to be — an Internet meme, a national punchline.
As much as his players might admire Smitty the man for saying he erred, the greater point is that Smitty the coach indeed erred in a critical function of his job — time management. “There are plenty of mistakes to go around,” unofficial team spokesman Justin Blalock said Monday, without quite absolving the head coach of his.
Said Blalock: “It’s difficult. We’re all under fire at all times, unfortunately.”
Professional athletes will follow any coach anywhere if they believe he can make them win. Once that feeling fades, following isn’t so easy. They’ll still play hard — they’re pros, after all — but the rallying cries ring hollow. And when the head coach fails his men twice in 28 days, they have reason to wonder if he’s the reason they’re no longer winning.
As cruel as it sounds, that’s the reality of pro sports. The Falcons under Smith knew five seasons of good times and outrageous victories. (Remember the 11-second escape against the Bears? Roddy White forcing a fumble after what should have been a clinching San Francisco interception? The fourth-quarter playoff collapse against Seattle that became the second-greatest triumph in franchise annals?) Those games were a function of belief. When you’re 8-19 over the past season-plus, faith is no longer a given.
More reality: After an offseason of retrenching, the Falcons are scarcely better. The offense has risen from 14th among 32 NFL teams last season to 12th, a nudge traceable to the return of Julio Jones. The defense has slid from 27th to last. The Falcons didn’t beat a team that finished above .500 last season and haven’t beaten a team above .500 this season.
They’re not getting better. They’re not “rectifying with a vengeance.” They’ve run out of ideas, and this coach has run out of time. There’s no reason to think Year 8 under Smith will be any better than Years 7 and 6, and come 2017 this team will move into its shiny new stadium with its pricey personal seat licenses.
I say again: I admire Mike Smith as a man, and I’ll argue forever that for five years he was the best coach this franchise has known. But that time is gone, and he needs to go.
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