Falcons introduce Smith as head coach
Thomas will remain with team as assistant head coach
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/23/08
Flowery Branch — The Falcons officially announced Mike Smith as the team's new head coach on Thursday at a press conference at team headquarters.
Smith, the 14th head coach in franchise history, comes to the Falcons from the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he was the team's defensive coordinator.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of this organization," Smith said. "There's no where to go but up."
The team announced that Emmitt Thomas would be the assistant head coach. Thomas served as the team's interim head coach for the last three games of the season after Bobby Petrino abruptly left the Falcons after 13 games to coach the University of Arkansas.
The Falcons decided Smith was their man, after narrowing their search down to four candidates, because his ideals of moving the franchise forward meshed with those of newly hired general manager Thomas Dimitroff and owner Arthur Blank.
"He is an exceptional talent evaluator and a very, very talented football mind," Dimitroff said of Smith.
Dimitroff, who has been on the job for just more than a week, made the recommendation to Blank to hire Smith, who has never been an NFL head coach. The neophyte tandem will try to redirect the wayward franchise forward after one of the more trying seasons in NFL history.
The Falcons are coming off a 4-12 season, sidetracked by quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting saga, coach Bobby Petrino quitting after 13 games and an injury-ravaged and aging roster.
Blank has now hired three coaches since he bought the franchise in 2002 and fired head coach Dan Reeves, none of whom had previous NFL head coaching experience.
FULL STORY
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...mith_0123.html