First-year head coach Arthur Smith appeared on the Pat McAfee Show this week, where the Falcons coach answered a wide variety of questions relating to football and his life outside of the game he grew up playing.
One of the funniest moments was when McAfee asked Smith about the competition within the division, citing the defending Super Bowl champions and the New Orleans Saints. Smith then responded that the schedule rarely works out the way it does on paper, noting one injury to a quarterback can change the entire dynamic of a team. He then snidely referenced McAfee’s time in Indianapolis, where he experienced life as a Colt during the Peyton Manning-era and post-Peyton.
“Pat, you were obviously part of that in ’11. You go from having Peyton Manning, and then you line up, no offense to Curtis Painter or Dan Orlovsky, it wasn’t like you were playing Peyton.”
Orlovsky is famous for being the goof who ran out of his own endzone. The host of the show wittily responded that Smith seemed to be taking a shot at Dan Orvlosky and Curtis Painter, who also followed Manning in Indy.
“We almost lost [Andrew] Luck because Dan Orlovsky was so good at football,” said McAfee. Orlovsky led the Colts to a 2-3 record after Painter was 0-8, nearly costing the Colts the No. 1 overall draft pick which was used on Andrew Luck.
"You always look at things on paper like when the schedule comes out & it never works out the way it looks"#Falcons HC Arthur Smith on being in the #NFC South with the Super Bowl Champs #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/hO8RbZ6ykf
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 3, 2021
McAfee then went into Smith’s relationship with his dad — the CEO and founder of FedEx. Believing Arthur Smith grew up with a silver spoon in his hand couldn’t be further from the truth. His dad was a marine and made his children play football so they wouldn’t grow up spoiled. Smith said specifically that he and his dad regularly speak on the world and how things translate from the logistics business to football, noting many lessons about management and leadership.
Guests on the Pat McAfee Show are always treated in a less formal way than ESPN or Fox Sports would, and inherently, the subjects are more lighthearted and free-flowing. This interview really showed a side of Smith that fans wouldn’t be able to see because all we do is associate him with football, but it was fascinating to watch him open up more regarding other aspects of his life.
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