Mike Smith

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Lore & Background

The 2014 Atlanta Falcons were featured on the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks. Shortly after the end of the post-season the Falcons were investigated by the League for piping artificial crowd noise during opponent's offensive snaps at home games during the 2013 season and the 2014 season. Team owner Arthur Blank stated that he was 'angry and embarrassed' about the allegations, and has allegedly acknowledged the validity of the accusations, stating 'I think what we've done in 2013 and 2014 was wrong', and promising to cooperate fully with the investigation. The NFL fined the Falcons $350,000 and took away a fifth round draft pick in the 2016 draft as punishment.

In Their Own Story

The 2012 season stands as the peak of Smith's Atlanta tenure. He led the team to another league-best 13–3 record and secured his first-ever postseason win as a head coach, narrowly defeating the Seattle Seahawks 30–28 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. This victory propelled the Falcons to their third all-time appearance in the NFC Championship Game, where they hosted the San Francisco 49ers for the first time in franchise history. Despite holding a commanding 17–0 lead in the second quarter, Atlanta fell 28–24. That same year, Smith reached a major milestone on October 28 by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles to earn his 50th win, surpassing Dan Reeves to become the winningest coach in Falcons history by number of wins.

Reader's Guide

The Falcons traded their sixth- (No. 182 overall) and original seventh- (No. 220 overall) round selections to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' fifth-round selection (No. 168 overall). In week 3, Devin Hester broke Deion Sanders's all-time record for punt/kick returns for touchdowns, with 20. This was the first NFC vs. NFC game to air on CBS since the 1993 NFL season. Week 13 was the Falcons' only win outside the NFC South division. The Falcons were the only NFC South team to lose to all of their AFC North opponents. In week 16, with the win, the Falcons swept the Saints for the 1st time since 2005 and eliminated them from postseason contention.

Did You Know?

• The Falcons were eliminated from postseason contention for the second straight year after a week 17 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
• Mike Smith was fired after his seventh year as head coach, following two straight losing seasons.
• The Falcons were investigated for piping artificial crowd noise during home games in 2013 and 2014, resulting in a $350,000 fine and loss of a fifth-round draft pick.