The last time Falcons fans saw Arthur Smith, he was visibly frustrated with Saints head coach Dennis Allen for running up the score in Atlanta’s loss to New Orleans in the 2023 season finale. Smith missed the playoffs in all three years he served as head coach and was dismissed following his third consecutive 7-10 finish.
Falcons fans will see Smith on the sideline again when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town in Week 1. Atlanta’s former coach returns as the offensive coordinator for the Steelers. Several Falcons players gave their thoughts on facing Smith’s offense in Sunday’s season opener.
“It will make it a very interesting matchup,” linebacker Kaden Elliss told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution. “Every first game always is. Especially when you get new coaches on new staffs. With us knowing him so well and him knowing us so well, it’s going to make for a fun game.”
Elliss joined the Falcons ahead of the 2023 season and quickly became one of the leaders on defense. “I have a super high respect for his mind and the type of coach that he is,” continued Elliss. “I was just thankful to be with him last year.”
Defensive tackle David Onyemata, like Elliss, signed with the team in 2023 and spent just one season under Arthur Smith. Onyemata is choosing to treat Week 1 just like another game.
“You approach it like every other game, but the big thing is just especially, in the same situation, he’s a new coach over there,” stated Onyemata. “You don’t have that much to go through scheme-wise.”
Pittsburgh’s offense will likely feature some similarities, but it won’t be a carbon copy of what Smith did here in Atlanta. The personnel is different as well, particularly the quarterback position. Still, the Falcons know what Smith likes to do.
“We’ve been here with him,” said linebacker Lorenzo Carter. “We’ve seen what he likes to do. We’ve seen how he likes to attack defenses, so we just have to take that into account.”
Out of all the players who spoke, cornerback A.J. Terrell spent the most time under Arthur Smith. Terrell, who will likely be matched up against Steelers wide receiver George Pickens on Sunday, was in Atlanta for all three years of the Smith era.
“Just having a previous relationship with him, so you know it’s always going to be love there,” Terrell told Ledbetter. “It’s nothing new. Every season is always new coaches, new players, new teammates that you got to adjust to. It’s just part of the game.”
It’s never been a secret that Smith was well-liked by his players. Things just never came together the way the team had hoped. The former Falcons head coach will look to rebuild his reputation as one of the NFL’s better play-callers in Pittsburgh this season.
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