Richard

Smith

Surprisingly fired after the Super Bowl, it took Smith five days to find a new job. Smith has alternated coaching linebackers and coordinating defenses since 1997. He should be a solid addition to new coach Anthony Lynn’s staff in L.A.

Even after Atlanta’s Super Bowl meltdown, the moves are very surprising. Smith’s young defense improved steadily over the course of 2016, while Cox’s defensive line harassed Tom Brady relentlessly before running out of gas on a whopping 93 defensive snaps, not including six penalties. Dan Quinn presumably had misgivings about both before the Super Bowl, because Smith and Cox’s units played about as well as could have been hoped. With Kyle Shanahan gone to San Francisco, the Falcons will have two new coordinators in 2017.

The Chargers were close to hiring Robert Saleh for that position but now he’s considered a leading candidate for the Niners’ defensive coordinator vacancy. Smith was surprisingly let go after the Falcons blew a 25-point second-half lead to New England in Super Bowl LI. He has 14 years of experience as an NFL LBs coach.

Smith, who has been coaching at the NFL level since 1993, will focus on the run defense. He’ll be under defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn and defensive-minded assistant head coach Raheem Morris. Expect Smith to adapt to Quinn’s Seattle scheme, meaning plenty of press coverage and not using stud Desmond Trufant in a shadow role.