Arthur Smith signs deal to become Atlanta Falcons’ new head coach

The Atlanta Falcons have reached a deal with Arthur Smith to be the team’s new head coach, it was announced on Friday.

Smith has been the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons.

Smith, 38, replaces Dan Quinn, who the Falcons fired with general manager Thomas Dimitroff on Oct. 11 after a 0-5 start. Raheem Morris took over as interim head coach and led the Falcons to their only wins of the 2020 season en route to an overall record of 4-12.

The Titans are fourth in the league in points in the regular season, averaging 30.7 points per game under Smith. Tennessee finished the regular season averaging 396.4 yards per game, which is good for third place in the NFL. The Titans’ rushing offense posted 168.1 yards per game, just behind the Baltimore Ravens (191.9 yards).

Tennessee reached a rare equilibrium under Smith. Running back Derrick Henry’s 2,027 rushing yards were the fifth-best rushing total of all time, and he became the eighth player to pass the 2,000-yard mark. Titans wide receiver AJ Brown finished with 1,075 receiving yards and teammate Corey Davis finished the season 16 yards off the 1,000-yard plateau.

Smith joined the Titans in 2011 as a defensive quality control coach; He went on to hold several other roles in Tennessee, including offensive quality control coach, offensive line assistant, and tight ends coach.

Smith also interviewed the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. The Jaguars hired Urban Meyer as their new head coach on Thursday.

Dave Ragone, the Bears game coordinator, is the favorite to join Smith as the offensive coordinator in Atlanta, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Falcons had a remote interview with Smith on Monday before sending him to Atlanta for a second interview on Wednesday. The team also interviewed Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and Los Angeles offensive coordinator. Green Bay Packers Nathaniel Hackett.

The Jets announced Thursday night that they had reached an agreement in principle with Saleh to be their next head coach.