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UPDATE: The Falcons announced they have hired Smith. The deal is done.
The Atlanta Falcons are closing in on their next head coach. The team has made an offer to Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to take the job, per Dianna Russini. He would replace Raheem Morris who served as interim coach after Dan Quinn was fired.
Smith has been the Titans OC for the past two years and a part of the Titans organization dating back to 2011. He started as defensive quality control coach in 2011 and then moved to the offensive side of the ball. he was offensive QC in 2012, offensive line and tight ends assistant in 2013, assistant tight ends coach in 2014 and 2015, and then tight ends coach from 2016 to 2018. Prior to joining the Titans, he spent time at North Carolina, with the Washington Football Team, and at Ole Miss.
The Titans offense ranked 23rd in efficiency in 2018, the year before Smith moved into the OC role. In his two seasons as OC, the Titans offense ranked sixth in 2019 and fourth this past year. Having Derrick Henry helps, but Smith was able to help Ryan Tannehill make a comeback after years of struggling to find consistency in Miami.