4 Atlanta Falcons facing make-or-break 2023 season

1. Arthur Smith

Terry Fontenot has proven an ability to do his job at a high level hitting on both first-round picks as well as a number of late picks and cheap veteran deals. The question now isn’t whether Terry can put together a winning roster but can Arthur Smith coach at a high level with expectations?

There are two ways to look at Arthur Smith’s first two seasons. The first is that the head coach won seven games in both his first two seasons without a good defense or a consistent offense getting the most out of bad roster. The second is the fact that in both seasons Atlanta has been in the playoff hunt late into the year and cannot win any of the games that matter.

Your perspective on Smith all depends on expectations for both rosters over the past two seasons. The dead cap hits and lack of a base to build a roster around are both gone and so are the excuses for Arthur Smith. If the head coach cannot win at least ten games with a very easy schedule and the second-most cap space in the league in his third season in Atlanta the Falcons shouldn’t hesitate to move on from their current head coach.