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Blank Expected To Go After A-List Coach


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With Falcons reeling, Arthur Blank expected to go after A-list coach

November 2, 2014 9:54 am ET





arthur_blank_jlc_usatsi.jpgArthur Blank could be after names like Harbaugh, Gruden this offseason. (USATSI)

Falcons owner Arthur Blank has become increasingly frustrated with his team's descent into the bottom wrung of the NFL and is irate about his 2014 product, according to a source close to him.

Coach Mike Smith is not expected to be back next season, according to the source, with his job security now become a regular topic of conversation in Atlanta. Blank is mulling a move for a big-name head coach to help usher his team into the new stadium he is constructing.

Should he land an A-list head coach, the immediate question becomes would that coach be comfortable with the front office as presently constructed, or would he want to hire his own general manager instead. Blank has tried to land proven winners in the past, spurned by Bill Parcells for one, and his level of dissatisfaction with his club's 6-18 performance since reaching the NFC Championship Game cannot be overstated, the source said, which has many expecting Blank will go big with his next hire and be willing to do whatever is necessary to get his guy.

“Arthur has an angry side to him,” the source said. “He can turn on someone and he can turn quickly. He's not nearly as mellow as his public perception would make you think.”

The Falcons offensive line, decimated by injuries, has remained a major concern, leading to quarterback Matt Ryan, a $20M-a-year investment, getting hit far too often amid what is becoming a lost season for him. The team has been unable to find pass rushers for years and in a fickle pro sports market, at a time when Blank will be trying to convince fans to purchase expensive personal seat licenses with the team falling well short of expectations, there is a growing expectation that he will be willing to make drastic changes to his organization in hopes to making the Falcons contenders again in 2015.

Every year there is speculation about Jon Gruden leaving the broadcast booth to return as an NFL head coach, and this offseason the 49ers are expected to consider trade offers for their coach, Jim Harbaugh, with those sides unable to get anywhere on contract talks in the past. There could be several options for him to pursue, and any hotly coveted coach generally comes with his own thoughts about how the organization and front office should be structured.

Topics: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, NFL

ABOUT JASON LA CANFORA

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Ugh, please don't give up draft picks for a coach that's probably going back to college, Arthur.

That's amusing about his dark side though. I can imagine him being a yeller.

Yeah, we don't need to trade picks for coaches. Plenty of good candidates that have far superior resumes than Smith had.

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Rex Ryan,FSU Coach Jimbo Fisher and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase(He could put in an offense similar to what Denver runs with Peyton Manning.)are three that Arthur should talk to.

Rex Ryan,FSU Coach Jimbo Fisher and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase(He could put in an offense similar to what Denver runs with Peyton Manning.)are three that Arthur should talk to.

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Well thank you for the post even if that article pretty much states the obvious with the exception of the information coming from someone close to Mr. Blank. It was also interesting to read what one would expect of a successful businessman like him: he is not nearly as mellow as his public persona would suggest.

Whatever happens after this season, I just hope he does not make the huge mistake of keeping Dimitroff. The mistakes and meltdown here in Atlanta cannot be ascribed to just one of these guys, but to their shared decision making in the building of a sinking ship.

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Big names don't mean more wins. We've been through this before, Petrino anyone? I don't understand the infatuation with Gruden. 100-85 record as a head coach and 5-4 in the playoffs.

You captured my total amusement with the "big names" and Gruden love affair to the tee. The media seems to be fixated on a head coach selection as more of a popularity and name dropping contest than it does with the actual merits of the individuals involved.

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Guest facelessman07

Don't care if it takes a draft pick or making someone the highest paid HC in football, the city of Atlanta DESPERATELY needs a top coach

DESPERATELY

No more playing around

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I bet if we lose next week, Smitty will wake up Monday morning with a ripped in half notepad in his bed.

Should have been fired. He's showing no signs of improvement or even attempts to improve the team. He talks about change, but we never see the change on the field.

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big name coaches does not equal wins, Parcells was garbage in Dallas, Saban was garbage in Miami, Jimmy Johnson was garbage in Miami, Gruden would be stupid to become a HC now, Jeff Fisher isnt really making the Rams Super Mega Ultra Radical Uber Bestest Ever!, would Big Bill be even be Big Bill without his spy cam and Tom Brady? Or would he just be that fat coach from Cleveland?

Dallas aquired from within and Jason Garret after a rough start as HC has Dallas sitting at 6-2.

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Same here. Wouldn't want to trade high picks if that's the cost. But the guy would turn Ryan into an accept no failure from anyone QB

**** no. They will ask for no less (and definitely more) than a 1st round pick. Some desperate franchise will do it, but it doesn't need to be us. Our new regime needs every draft pick it can get to replace this depleted roster, especially if there is a large amount of turnover on the roster.

Let's say it all together folks - no trading draft picks.

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