Talk about Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith is heating up in the wake of the team’s humiliating loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Following their utterly awful 9-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith appears to be on leave. This comes after a source claimed he wouldn’t be fired as long as the team didn’t have a collapse in the latter part of the season.
Following the Panthers’ defeat, which had only won once before, the clamor peaked during his leadership, with the #FireArthurSmith hashtag becoming viral on Twitter.
But for Smith, everything are still going as usual, despite an increasingly irate fan base using social media to voice their complaints.
Arthur Smith talks about his Job Security
Smith talked about the growing clamor concerning his job security. “That’s what you sign up for. I don’t mean to make that sound like bravado, but like I said, you want these jobs,” “You deal with the consequences. That’s what you want. You want to be judged and don’t lose sight of that. You’re in the most competitive league. That’s the reality when it’s not going the way – you don’t get the results right now. So, that goes with the job.”
To Smith’s credit, part of the job description is being constantly scrutinized and having every choice examined and questioned. But as the latest Twitter trend demonstrates, those sounds get louder with every loss that transpires and every feeling of failure.
After a two-year reconstruction, one would have thought the Falcons would at the very least be vying for the NFC South division championship. Many went one step further and picked Atlanta to win the NFC South and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Can Arthur Smith turn Falcons around?
After losing to the Panthers, which knocked them out of a three-way tie for the division lead, the Falcons are at 6-8, thus neither of those two goals is within reach. The Falcons’ hopes of making the playoffs were severely damaged by the setback, even if the Tampa Bay Bucs and New Orleans Saints are now ahead of them.
However, Smith is facing more than just disappointing outcomes. In addition, he is under fire for not making the most of the three first-round picks he has acquired since joining the team: running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts, and receiver Drake London.
That offensive line, which has shown to be at least passable when healthy, along with the three playmakers should be sufficient to put together an offensive that is at least entertaining and productive. However, the outcome has been the opposite, with the team suffering from inept quarterback play and Smith’s play-calling skills being continuously criticized.
As the Falcons play their final three regular season games, a storm of uncertainty surrounding Smith’s future with the team has resulted from all of this.
