Former Falcons head coach is a candidate for North Carolina job

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Falcons Arthur Smith

In some big college football news, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown is being relieved of his duties in Chapel Hill. Brown will coach UNC’s season finale against NC State and could potentially coach the team’s bowl game, but he will not be returning next season.

An underrated job in college football, North Carolina will have their choice of several top candidates, including former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith.

After three seasons as the Falcons head coach, Arthur Smith was axed last offseason; however, it didn’t take him long to find a new gig as the offensive coordinator with the Steelers, a position in which he’s thrived.

Smith has a lot of ties to North Carolina, where he played from 2001-2005 before becoming a graduate assistant in 2006. After that, he spent time with the Washington Redskins and Ole Miss before joining the Titans, where his career really took off. He began in Tennessee over a decade ago as the defensive quality control coach, working his way up to the offensive coordinator position in 2019. After two years as Titans OC, he was named the Falcons head coach.

Things could have gone a lot better in Atlanta, but Arthur Smith was never really given a fair shake. No coach could have had much success with Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota throwing passes. However, part of the reason they were under center is because of Smith’s belief in them, and he learned the hard way about life in the NFL. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.

With that being said, Smith has done a lot more good than bad over his coaching career. He was always likely to get another crack as a head coach, whether it be in college or at the professional level, and North Carolina feels like an ideal fit for both parties.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
 

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