There’s no denying that the Falcons underachieved in Arthur Smith’s third and final year. During his press conference with team CEO Rich McKay—and, notably, not general manager Terry Fontenot—Falcons owner Arthur Blank explained that while the playoffs may not have been a mandate, improvement was.
“It was more about getting to the next level, winning more games, etcetera, and playing at a competitive level that we didn’t come close to this year with the kind of consistency that, I think, that our roster really should have given us the ability to do,” Blank said.
Understandably, most of the criticism was levied at Smith.