Atlanta Falcons fans are frustrated with their head coach (yes, again), and the level of trust in owner Arthur Blank, CEO Rich McKay, and GM Terry Fontenot to choose the right guy to lead the Falcons is at an all-time low.
Such as things are, Falcons fans are hoping and praying for their own Obi-Wan Kenobi -- in the form of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart -- to save them. The calls for the Falcons brass to reach out to Smart are gaining steam.
Heck, even Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin might welcome Kirby Smart leaving for the Falcons, mostly out of self-preservation, if we’re being honest.
And who knows, that call may happen.
But that's as far as things would go. On the list of impossible things that would never happen in Atlanta area sports that didn't include the numbers 28 and 3, Kirby Smart taking the Falcons job under current ownership and executive leadership sits near, if not at the very top, of that list.
Running an FBS program might be the most brutal gig in all of sports. The combination of the transfer portal, NIL, revenue share, the NCAA "rules", the playoff committee continually moving the goal posts, along with all the other day-to-day tasks involved in running a football program make it a nightmarish proposition full of non-stop chaos.
And Kirby Smart would probably do that job for two programs at once before he would walk into the goat rodeo that is the Atlanta NFL franchise. An organization so dysfunctional they make the hapless Atlanta Hawks look like a well-oiled machine.
Make no mistake, the NFL will come calling for Kirby smart sooner or later (probably sooner), and there's at least a 50/50 chance Smart will throw caution to the wind and take one of those jobs.
But it won't be in Atlanta.
It's a lovely thought, to be certain. Kirby Smart bringing his passion, energy, and coaching knowledge to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on a full-time basis instead of just once or twice a year could potentially transform the franchise.
Smart could have the Falcons' defense resembling the legendary 1977 Grits Blitz, and might even be able to persuade Todd Monken to leave Baltimore and join him as his offensive guru, reuniting the pair that ran roughshod over college football for two consecutive national titles.
The problem with that dream is, Smart is far too...well...smart to even consider working for Blank and Co. He's an autonomous, authoritative, coaching beast who you simply need to turn loose to get the results you desire. Any amount of unnecessary control, and the structure will collapse.
And if there's one thing we've learned about Arthur Blank and the people he hires to work directly under him - it's that he's all about control. His circle of influence is very tight, and his head coach is never, ever brought into that circle.
That would make for a very unhappy partnership, and we'd likely see Smart fail the way other great college coaches -- Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz, and more -- have failed trying to make their mark in the NFL.
With the right organization behind him, Kirby Smart could very well be another Pete Carroll, Barry Switzer, or Jimmy Johnson, winning both national championships and Super Bowls. He's got all the tools and the right personality.
Sadly, the Atlanta Falcons are -- in their current iteration -- not that organization.