When a team falls to 2-7 on a season they were expected to win a Super Bowl, plenty of blame and rash calls begin to get tossed around. The Atlanta Falcons are certainly in a state of panic, searching for answers as to why the team cannot get a win after stacking their roster with talent in the offseason. There are plenty of reasons for the team's struggles, but general manager Thomas Dimitroff says head coach Mike Smith is not one of them.
Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports issued a report saying that Jon Gruden was considering a return to coaching and Oakland or Atlanta would be his likely landing spots in the event that a position opened up on either team. Essentially he is saying that Smith, who until now has yet to have a losing record, would get fired after the season ended since the Falcons season has been one struggle after another. Dimitroff laughed off the idea.
"Mike Smith is a hell of a football coach; he's the leader of this team," Dimitroff said, via ESPN.com. "Mike's going nowhere. Any time there's insinuation toward an organization that we believe in, it's agitating, sure."
Prior to this season, Smith was 56-24 as a head coach. He has brought the Atlanta Falcons two NFC South titles since being hired as head coach in 2008. He earned Coach of the Year honors that same year after bringing the Falcons a winning season with a rookie quarterback. The team has been to the playoffs three-straight years while making it to the NFC Championship game in 2012, losing to the San Francisco 49ers. Smith signed a contract extension in 2011.
Certainly the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" kind of league, but Smith's resume with the Falcons speaks louder than one season that has been riddled with injuries. Veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez recognizes that the Falcons continue to search for answers to struggles this year, but Smith is the best option to get answers.
"I know the NFL is a performance-driven business, but it seems like people don't look at your body of work," Gonzalez said. "They always want to know, 'What have you done for me lately?' But if you look at what Coach Smith has done since he's been here ... obviously last year, we were in the NFC Championship Game. We have a lot of injuries this year -- key injuries. And it's hard to win like that. So I don't think he deserves any type of blame."
Gruden is a great coach, but Smith is not a bad one. The Falcons remain confident that something positive will start to take place this season and Smith will be a driving force behind it.
