Atlanta Falcons CEO Rich McKay joined Dukes & Bell Monday to discuss the state of the franchise after the decision was made early in the morning to fire head coach Arthur Smith. The team finished up its third straight losing season under Smith after expectations were raised this offseason. The team was expected to be a strong playoff contender after spending in the offseason and drafting running back Bijan Robinson. They failed to do that after sputtering out in the final two weeks of the regular season with losses to the Bears and Saints.
One aspect of the day’s events that garnered much attention was the noticeable absence of GM Terry Fontenot from the Falcons' end-of-season media session. Arthur Blank and McKay held a joint press conference but decided Fontenot was best served to tackle other tasks for the organization.
Multiple questions were asked about him not being a part of the presser, and the response about his duties elsewhere was the consistent response Questions were also asked about role with the organization. Blank and McKay assured everyone that his role will not be diminished, but could morph based on who becomes the next head coach.
The next coach of the team will need to instill the type of consistency on gameday that Arthur Smith was unable to do. The team failed to win three games in a row at any point during his tenure, a small example of what ultimately led to his dismissal.