Arthur Blank is looking for a head coach, but he spent the first part of his press conference defending his own role in the firing of Mike Smith.
Blank emphasized that he had not reached out to any candidates for the job or agents yet, and defended his role amid criticism of the leaks regarding his hiring of a search firm before his team played a win-and-in game.
He said when similar reports popped up the week before and they “beat the crap out of the Saints, " they weren’t a distraction.
So even though he did have a search firm in place, he insisted it wasn’t a factor in the Falcons falling flat against the Panthers.
“Smitty could not have had stronger support than from me,” Blank said of the weeks prior to his decision.
Blank said that General Manager Thomas Dimitroff would be involved in the search, but quarterback Matt Ryan would not be (which is as it should be).
He also pointed out that more changes might be necessary, which could include more coaching changes.
