The 2022 NFL regular season is only one week old, and already a few head coaches are tangling with reporters over what they apparently see as unfair coverage.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and Jets head coach Robert Saleh were the most egregious offenders, lashing out at what they viewed as dismissive or patronizing reporting on their respective franchises' rebuilding efforts.
Joining them was Texans head coach Lovie Smith, who sarcastically chided a reporter for having the temerity to question one of his in-game decisions after his team's tie against the Colts.
Arthur Smith, speaking to reporters a day after the Falcons' epic collapse against the Saints in Week 1, bizarrely dredged up offseason speculation that the Falcons were essentially tanking this season in hopes of positioning themselves to nab a franchise quarterback in next year's draft.
“You guys wrote our obituary back in May, and continue to write our obituary. Who cares? We got 16 games,” Smith said. “Write whatever y’all want. Same guys that ranked us 45th, buried us in May. Bury us again -- we don’t care. We’ll get back to work.”
Saleh struck a similar chord, vowing that his team would improve after it was steamrolled by the Ravens, and claiming that he was "taking receipts" on those who "continually mock" the Jets.
“It’s going to happen," Saleh said. "And we’re all taking receipts on all the people who continually mock and say that we ain’t going to do anything. I’m taking receipts and I’m gonna be more than happy to share them with all y’all."
Lovie Smith, meanwhile, did not seem to appreciate it when a reporter questioned his decision to punt from the Colts' 37-yard line with his team leading, 20-3, early in the fourth quarter.
Told that Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn had converted a 61-yard field goal as recently as last season, Smith bristled at the suggestion that he wasn't already aware, then defiantly doubled down on his dubious punting decision -- and sealed his explanation with a bit of snark.
"I absolutely feel the same way about that," Smith said. "I realize exactly how far it was. At the time, we weren't going to kick the field goal at the 37-yard line. ... We had made up our mind before that. In that situation we like to pin them down there and play defense. ... As we go forward, right at that area, sometimes we may kick it, sometimes we may not. But thanks for quoting what he's done in the past. I appreciate you looking all that up."
Smith's unapologetic stance is a bit troubling from a strategic standpoint -- a 54-yard field goal attempt is by no means a chip shot, but it's not a Hail Mary, either, especially with the roof closed at NRG Stadium. And while he has a degree of cache here, given his track record as a winning coach, the reporter's question was fair and posed professionally.
But Arthur Smith and Saleh have far less to stand on. It's true that Smith did a nice job winning seven games with the Falcons last season, and the fact that his team was even had a lead to squander against a superior Saints squad in Week 1 was impressive, especially with Marcus Mariota under center.
But there are no moral victories in the NFL. The Falcons choked, and Smith should have owned up to it. Whatever was written in May is irrelevant now.
Even worse was Saleh's incoherent rant. The Jets' roster is much improved this season, making Gang Green's flop against a weakened Ravens team all the more disappointing. Whatever "mockery" the Jets have received from the media -- and I'd even question that they have -- is probably justifiable.
For one, Jets brass' decision to tab Joe Flacco as Week 1 starter was highly suspect at the time and seemed even worse after the veteran looked every bit a 37-year-old in decline. In Flacco's defense, he was under constant pressure -- a product of the front office's inability to shore up the offensive line and the coaching staff's inability to get the most out of the talent they were given.
Saleh was right to say that his team would get better from here, because how could it get any worse? There's nothing else to say, and he should have left it at that.
Just look at first-year Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who, after arguably the worst head-coaching debut in recent memory, averted compounding his disastrous outing by owning up to his egregious mistake, rather than blaming or attacking someone else.
Related
Defiance usually breeds contempt, but a mea culpa can go a long way toward assuaging an angry fan base.
Arthur Smith, Lovie Smith and Saleh are in unenviable positions, trying to lead moribund teams out of the doldrums. It must be tempting for them to distract from the drudgery of that task by giving a hard time to the journalists who are meant to hold them accountable.
In fact, attacking the media is nothing new for football coaches, unfortunately. For some, as in Lovie Smith's case, it seems simply born out of genuine frustration, and for Arthur Smith and Saleh, it may well be a ploy to divert attention onto themselves and away from their outmatched players. In that way it can serve as an underdog's rally cry, a declaration of "us against the world." Saleh, for one, later explained that he was "defending the locker room."
In some ways, then, it's perhaps understandable, but as a matter of course, fighting the media is a losing battle, and it only serves to make the coach look like a mean-spirited bully -- the very thing they claim to be pushing back against. In this era of shrinking media freedoms, using the bully pulpit to put a chilling effect on inquiring minds is in no one's best interest.
For NFL coaches, the stakes are high -- they are hired to be fired, as the saying goes. But there's another cliche that applies here, which is if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. On the eve of Week 2, at least several coaches appear to be feeling the heat already.
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