NFL insider weighs in on whether Arthur Smith is on hot seat

Steelers Falcons Arthur Smith

The Falcons are underachieving to this point in the season, and a lot of it falls at the feet of Arthur Smith.

Atlanta’s head coach is to blame for the lack of stable quarterback play. He had his pick and landed on a third-round pick and a veteran with a limited ceiling. The results speak for themselves.

Smith’s had his fair share of struggles with play designs and calls too, prompting some fans to call for his job. I certainly don’t feel the same for several reasons.

First and foremost, the quarterback play has been inconsistent at best, which I get can be attributed to Smith, but still must be considered when assessing a head coach’s job security. Secondly, there’s still half of a season to be played, and the Falcons have total control over their destiny with a 2-0 record in the division.

Moreover, Arthur Blank isn’t the type of owner to fire someone in a knee jerk reaction. Falcons fans should’ve learned from the Mike Smith and Dan Quinn eras. If anything, Blank hangs on too long.

Dan Graziano of ESPN weighed in on the situation and had an interesting point about the season’s second half results.

“If the Falcons were to nose-dive and Arthur Smith were to continue his stubborn refusal to play the high draft picks given to him on offense, I’d imagine owner Arthur Blank would at least want some answers,” Graziano said about Arthur Smith potentially being on the hot seat.

Even if the Falcons were to nose-dive and Atlanta’s high draft picks were relegated to supplementary roles, it would have to be such a dramatic downfall and egregious usage of Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London that a termination would be obvious. I don’t think that will happen.

Arthur Smith’s seat may be warming, but it’s not at the temperature that fans might think or want.

Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire

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