Falcons Close To Hiring Jags' Mike Smith

by Dave Choate on Jan 23, 2008 10:43 AM EST in Falcons News

They've entertained Spagnuolo, Sparano and Schwartz, and they settle on Mike Smith? That can't be his real name, can it? My urge to come up with a clever nickname is going to tax my brain over the next few months.

More importantly, this supposedly soon to be confirmed hire represents the evolution of the process once Dimitroff came on. At the beginning of the month, we all heard about how much Arthur Blank wanted to make a big splash with his coaching hire. That quickly led to me nearly having a heart attack when the team began courting USC Coach Pete Carroll, and many questioned whether the new GM was getting a fair chance to guide the process. In getting Smith, as bland and as quality a choice as he is, the team has given a nod to Dimitroff that suggests Blank and McKay are going to stay the hell out of it for once.

Smith himself is an interesting candidate. I'm not going to start my jumping jacks based on an "Everyone Sucks at Portin' News" story, of course. Still, he's presided over a talented defense, appears to be quiet and efficient and as far as I know doesn't have the timeout skeletons in his closet that Rex Ryan did. He's just a solid choice with a few years of good to excellent coordinating under his belt. If that and player evaluation is all they based this hire on, you can still color me thrilled. It's a hell of a lot more than we got from Petrino.

Stay tuned on this one; they're expected to hold a press conference mid-afternoon.

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Waitaminnit...

Michael Smith wrote that ESPN article! What the-?

I'm not familiar with this guy at all, but his resume scans well- and who knows, he might be more steak than the sizzle of some of these other guys. I'm not unhappy with this news.

Better than effing Carroll!

by johnnybacardi on Jan 23, 2008 11:46 AM EST reply actions

Scans well

I really like that finally--finally!--this team doesn't feel the perverse need to make everything about public relations. Dimitroff and Smith aren't going to be posing on the cover of Sexy Choices Weekly, but screw it. If they turn this team around it's well worth it.

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by Dave Choate on Jan 23, 2008 11:49 AM EST up reply actions

I'm too sexy for this job...

Literally the most unsexy name out there. "Mike Smith"

I heard that John Doe was up for a front office job provided that the John Q. Public fans accept him.

Let's matriculate the ball down the field boys.

by runningback on Jan 23, 2008 1:31 PM EST up reply actions

Great, Great, Great Choice

As the resident SB Nation Jaguars Blogger, I am both very happy to see Mike Smith get a chance at Head Coach, and sad to see him go.

You've got a great Head Coach in Smith that's masterful at making young and developing talent look like Pro Bowlers. Look at how competitive the Jaguars defense was despite the bloodletting of injures. He's made a rookie LB in Justin Durrant and a player out of his natural role (OLB) in Daryl Smith both look fantastic in replacing MLB Mike Peterson.

You've also got a guy who's huge on having deep rosters of "jars on the shelf". Interchangable pieces at linebacker, DE, and DT. You'll probably see him sign players that are "tweeners" at DE/OLB, not because he's got any interest in a 3-4 defense, but because he want's the roster depth.

Anyhow, I'm happy to answer any more questions if you drop me a line!

-Chris

by River City Rage on Jan 23, 2008 1:15 PM EST reply actions

Decent choice, but why not wait?

Mike Smith wasn't exactly on my Top 3 candidates list, but I'll take him if that's who Dimitroff wanted. I'll trust Dimitroff to know what is right for this team.

What I'm wondering is... why couldn't the Falcons just wait one and half more weeks to interview someone like Spagnuolo or McDaniels? Heck, we've waited this long, so why not just wait those weeks out?

Anyways, good luck to Mike Smith and his future with the Atlanta Falcons. I hope we don't overpay him. :P

-Matt

by Matt L. on Jan 23, 2008 2:05 PM EST reply actions

Glad to hear it

The point that jumped out at me in all of the coverage was that a big reason why Smith was hired was because it is beleived he will work extremely well with Dimitroff. Having them on the same page would be great.

by Hamburger on Jan 23, 2008 9:19 PM EST reply actions