Buccaneers' Division Rival Atlanta Falcons Fire Head Coach Arthur Smith
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With the NFL regular season coming to a close, head coaching changes have been underway as franchises are able to re-assess where they are and what changes need to be made to improve.
After yet another season of missing the playoffs, the Atlanta Falcons relieved Arthur Smith of his head coaching duties. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' division rivals have not seen any consistency over the past few seasons under the leadership of Arthur.
Arthur spent the last three seasons with the Falcons, which has seen them playing the Buccaneers on seven different occasions. Over the course of the three years, the Buccaneers won five of those matchups.
In each of his three seasons as the Falcons' head coach, Smith went 7-10, rounding out his three-year record to 21-30. He finished third in the NFC South twice, while finishing dead last in once.
Falcons' owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay have immediately begun searching for the team's next head coach. This could shake things up in the NFC South quite a bit. The Falcons have some young talent and weapons, but Smith was never able to put it together. Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson -- two first-round picks at the tight end and running back positions -- didn't touch the ball nearly enough.
With the right leadership, the Falcons can be much, much better than they've been the last three years. The New Orleans Saints and Buccaneers could get hurt by a good Falcons hire, as the division has been pretty open the past few years with the Carolina Panthers and Falcons rebuilding.
Now, it seems the Buccaneers could eventually gear up for a rebuild and the Saints are the team they once were. It'll be interesting to see how the division shakes up next season as each of the teams in the division have decisions to make.
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