Don't kill the messenger.
I have a buddy who is close to some people in the Falcons organization and he says Mike Smith has been contacted by the Giants and will interview at some point this week for the DC job.
Again..this is a RUMOR....take it with a grain of salt but this guy has filled me in on a few other things before they happened (OSI signing with ATL is a big one I remember).
DC fine..HC? Please no
Belichick might be the rare exception, though how much of the D on gameday is him?
Buddy Ryan was one of the best DCs ever, but as a HC, even with leanings towards his D, he could not replicate his own DC productivity as a HC..
If you want to say Smith was a lousy DC in Jax, fine, have at it..But his responsibilities changed a lot once he got the entire Atlanta gig
not a good fit.
Lol
I don't know if that was the Falcons front office, or if it was Mike Smith, GM Thomas Dimitroff, or the Owner Arthur Blank who made the personnel decisions. Whoever made these decisions completely ignored the defensive line. Because of an underperforming Matt Ryan, losing Tony Gonzales, injuries to Julio Jones, the Falcons have had a steep two year slide after narrowly losing to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
It's been mentioned before in early threads about possible replacement Defensive Coordinators.
Do the Giants want someone who is known to produce a soft team? I don't think so.
I think Mike Smith got a bum rap in Atlanta. There was literally zero talent on the D by the end of it. Anyone who was good was hurt. Also, their OL imploaded. I think he's a pretty good coach who just couldn't turn water into wine.
I'd like the move as a DC. Here's how his Atlanta units fared in points and yards per game...
2004: PPG- 17(7th)
YPG- 320(11th)
2005: PPG- 16(6th)
YPG- 290(6th)
2006: PPG- 17(4th)
YPG- 283(2nd)
2007: PPG- 19(10th)
JPG- 313(12th)
Those are good numbers, but it seems like his team's have trouble getting off the field. Only once did his unit maintain a success rate better than 37%. In two seasons (half his tenure) it was above 40, which is worrisome. I'd still like the hire though.
But as a potential successor? No way in hell. His Falcon teams underperformed and always seem to come up small in big spots.
Right, the Jax units he was D coordinator of.
You don't want him. His clock management is the worst.
LOL...not only that, it would be the most unappealing sideline tandem in the NFL, TC's red face (funny and true Aikman comment) and Smith's doppelganger for TC (with a bit more reserved demeanor)
young blood, please
Not untrue, but completely different circumstances. As a head coach delegating his scheme to coordinators (first Brian VanGorder and the past 2 seasons Mike Nolan) the Falcons saw very little success on that side of the ball. But as a coordinator where his sole responsibility is running the D he has a proven track record. Some guys struggle making the jump to HC but can still thrive running a unit.
And that's not even getting into personnel issues. Despite Smith's defensive background Dimitroff has devoted the lions share of that teams resources to trying to build an offensive to match New Orleans.
It can have an impact, I can see some guys being wary of finding themselves in that position. But there's a few things the Giants can do, such as assure a guy they really like that if his unit performs he will be retained regardless of a HC change like Fangio. Or they can already prepare for the situation and hire a DC who, if successful, would be ready for a head coaching gig and simply promote him.
It may deter some, but I don't want that guy anyway. I want the guy who uses it as motivation, looks at it like season long audition.
As a DC, who knows? He was the linebackers coach around 2000 when the Ravens featured Ray Lewis & Co. Than he spent 5 years as a DC for the Jags.
He's got a lot of creds. They should interview him if he's interested.
In comment 12087220 mrvax said:
As a DC, who knows? He was the linebackers coach around 2000 when the Ravens featured Ray Lewis & Co. Than he spent 5 years as a DC for the Jags.
He's got a lot of creds. They should interview him if he's interested.
He's certainly got more credentials than Pepper. That's not a knock on Johnson, he may end up being a great coordinator. But I'm wary of a guy who spent the better part of 15 years in an organization known to promote from within and develop good coordinators but who was passed over for the Big Job(DC) 5 times by my count and who only received one real promotion in that time.
Belichick might be the rare exception, though how much of the D on gameday is him?
Buddy Ryan was one of the best DCs ever, but as a HC, even with leanings towards his D, he could not replicate his own DC productivity as a HC..
If you want to say Smith was a lousy DC in Jax, fine, have at it..But his responsibilities changed a lot once he got the entire Atlanta gig
Yeah, but Ryan lead some nasty defenses in Philadelphia. A little unfair to say that b/c the Philly defenses weren't as good as the historic Bears defenses, that Ryan was not successful with Philly's D.
Ok, but then that's an argument for not promoting Smith from within to HC if we hire him as DC, not an argument to not consider him for DC.
Ryan was fairly successful as a head coach, though. Much more successful than Rex. Those Philly teams never had a running game, though, or receivers. Stacked on 'D, though.
Ryan also gets credit for renaming the Run 'N Shoot the Chuck 'N Duck, then becoming DC of the Oilers, and decking Gilbride. And there's your seven degrees of separation, lol.