Heading into his 7th season as the Falcons' head coach, where does Mike Smith rank among NFL head coaches?

I know you Falcoholics pretty well. You're a feisty bunch, ready and raring to tackle any heated debate. And let's be honest, there's not a lot of Earth shattering news to be had these days. So tonight, for your blogging plesure, I present you with the debate of the century: where does Mike Smith rank among NFL head coaches?

Answering this question requires a thorough analysis of the facts. So let's start with those. In his 6 seasons as the Falcons' head coach, Smitty has a 59-33 regular season record, good for a .641 win percentage. Mind you that includes last season's 12 losses. His 1-4 post-season record makes baby elephants die isn't very good. But even when you count that post-season awfulness, his overall win percentage (.625) is still top 25 all time. Better than Bill Cowher, Mike Sherman, Andy Reid, and Lovie Smith. Of active coaches, he has the 6th highest win percentage.

If there's a knock on Smitty, it's that he's no football genius. It shows in his bland play calling and conservative approach. He occasionally gets angry, and we love seeing that, but it doesn't happen enough. No matter the personnel Thomas Dimitroff puts on the field, Smitty won't get the Falcons over the hump until he takes more risks and manages his team more aggressively. Worst of all, his team hasn't won a Superbowl. Heck, his team hasn't been to a Superbowl. He can win all the games in the regular season, but if he consistently doesn't make it out of the 1st round of the playoffs, NFL history won't remember him fondly.

And now Falcoholics, I'll turn it over to you. Where does Smitty rank among NFL head coaches? Is there a particular coach you'd like to trade him for? What does Smith have to do if he wants to take the Falcons from being good to being great? Discuss!