It’s officially official, the contract is inked and the Atlanta Falcons have named Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as their new head coach.
As Smith begins to assemble his staff, ESPN Jeremy Fowler reports that the Falcons are expected to hire Chicago Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone.
One name strongly connected to Arthur Smith's staff as he takes the Atlanta Falcons job: Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone. I'm told there's a good chance he becomes Smith's OC after five years in Chicago.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 15, 2021
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Smith and Ragone Worked Together Before
Smith and Ragone are very familiar with each other as the two worked together in Tennessee from 2011-2013. Smith was the Titans offensive line and tight end assistant coach at the time and Ragone was the wide receivers coach and then quarterbacks. Smith also spent a seasin as was the Titans’ offensive assistant/quality control coach and then another season as the defensive assistant/quality control coach.
Ragone, 41, is on his fifth season with the Bears and his first as the passing game coordinator. He was the quarterbacks coach before he was promoted. Prior to that, Ragone was the offensive quality control coach for the Washington Football Team.
Ragone has played a role in helping to turn around Mitchell Trubisky, Jay Cutler, Kirk Cousins, and Jake Locker.
Smith’s Success With The Titans
Smith worked under the Titans since 2011 where he began his NFL career as a defensive quality control coach. From there, Smith worked his way up the ladder and served as Tennessee’s offensive quality control coach, offensive line assistant, and tight ends coach. And in 2019, Smith was promoted to offensive coordinator.
With Smith leading the offense, Tennessee ranked fourth in the league in scoring during the 2020 regular season, averaging 30.7 points per game. The team also finished the regular season averaging 396.4 total yards per game, putting them at third in the league. Tennessee had a solid rushing attack posting 168.1 yards per game which landed them second below the Baltimore Ravens (191.9 yards).
Smith bringing on Ragone would mean Dirk Koetter would be out the door, making a lot of fans happy.
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