New Falcons Coach Arthur Smith Praises Titans Coach Mike Vrabel For 'Lessons Learned'

The Atlanta Falcons will have a new voice on the sidelines this summer, Arthur Smith, a longtime assistant with the Tennessee Titans.

Smith spent 10 seasons on the Titans' coaching staff, two of which as the team's offensive coordinator.

Recently Smith was on Chris Collinsworth’s podcast and gave credit to Titans head coach Mike Vrabel for showing him the way.

“I will always be very loyal and grateful for Mike Vrabel,” Smith said.

“There were a lot of lessons learned, and I can’t say enough about Mike Vrabel’s leadership at that time… I got to experience a lot and came out the other side.”

Smith's offense in Tennessee relied a lot on running back Derrick Henry, and when they did throw, Ryan Tannehill was the main man under center.

The team was floundering until Tannehill was named the starter in Week 7 of the 2019 season.

Smith said the Titans' offense "just clicked" when Tannehill was given the job, and he also gave credit to Henry’s special ability to dominate games.

“When he took over, it just clicked,” Smith of Tannehill.

“What we wanted to do really was fit his skillset. And really Derrick, it was a practicality. Derrick is the outlier. The number of carries he had, and when he gets going, it’s impressive to watch. So, it all kind of gelled together.”

Smith is hoping that his new quarterback, Matt Ryan, will have a big season for the Falcons, who are coming off a 4-12 campaign.

Ryan enters his 14th season in 2021, and there have been whispers about replacing him after a couple lackluster seasons.

For now, he's the starter and is expected to be the opening day quarterback unless something drastic happens in camp.