Albert Breer on whether Arthur Smith deserves one more season

The focus over the Falcons’ final three games will be squarely on Arthur Smith, and Arthur Blank recently added even more fuel to the fire with his non-committal remarks regarding Smith’s 2024 job status.

All signs point to Smith coaching for his job. How the team responds will likely determine his future with the organization.

Most Falcons fans are eager for the moment Arthur Smith finally gets the axe, which is understandable. Fans should never be satisfied with mediocrity, and Smith hasn’t delivered anything more than that since taking over as head coach, even after significant investments into the roster this past offseason.

However, many insiders and others close to the organization aren’t sold on these being the final three games of Smith’s head coaching career in Atlanta. Like NFL insider Albert Breer, who was recently asked about the Falcons head coach on the Rich Eisen Show.

“First of all, I think Arthur [Smith] is like a really, really bright coach, and I think he’s going to find success as a head coach somewhere in the NFL, whether it’s Atlanta or somewhere else, and I think Arthur Blank knows that,” Breer said.

“The problem is how they screwed up the quarterback position, like let’s call it what it is. I think that that’s a pretty good team outside of the quarterback.”

Arthur Smith has shown many faults since taking over as head coach, but just like rookies entering the league, there’s a learning curve.

He clearly connects with the players, who have not wavered in their support of their head coach despite the results.

His run game concepts are also brilliant, but it’s tough to get past just how badly Smith and the rest of the organization screwed up the quarterback position.

Investing merely a third-round pick into the most important position in all of sports is ludicrous.

It’s a fireable offense on its own, so nobody should be shocked if Smith is filling out job applications at the end of the season, because he made this bed, and now he must lie in it. It’s also much deeper than just the decision to start

Desmond Ridder.

During Smith’s first season, the Falcons chose to keep an aging Matt Ryan rather than pulling off the band-aid. as foolishly chasing Deshaun Watson, they had to go to Marcus Mariota as the Cleveland Browns outbid them.

Subsequently, they chose to start the terrible Mariota for 13 games last season, not realizing the talent that Ridder actually has.

The Falcons could have very easily realized what they had in Ridder this time last year. Instead, they went on to hand him the starting job with no competition.

Saying the Falcons have failed at the quarterback position since Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot took over is a colossal understatement.

The thought process has been short-sighted and inept for three consecutive years, and there’s no reason to believe they will somehow get it right this upcoming offseason if given another chance.

Like Breer, I do believe Arthur Smith has the potential to be a great head coach in this league, but it’s also overwhelmingly evident that his opinions on the quarterback position should not be considered. If he’s to continue in Atlanta, somebody else has to take the wheel when selecting the next signal caller of the Falcons.

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