The Atlanta Falcons (3-7) are in the middle of another losing season in the NFL. Coming off a disappointing 30-27 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers (6-5), the Falcons’ season looks close to over. After a 1-1 start to the season, Atlanta suffered an embarrassing 30-0 loss in its first matchup with Carolina. That loss ultimately started a 2-6 downslide.
RELATED: Prominent Atlanta radio host: UGA won’t advance in College Football Playoff
Raheem Morris is now 11-16 since taking over as head coach for Georgia’s only NFL team last year. Morris has a long history with Atlanta, serving as an assistant with the Falcons from 2015-20, including a few games as interim head coach during the 202 season. But after 3-7 start to his second season as Falcons’ head coach, many have already started heading to the exits early on Morris’ tenure in Atlanta.
If Atlanta were to pull the trigger and move on from Morris, who would be next for the struggling franchise? Another coach who wears red and black and lives close by has been mentioned as a candidate.
Kirby Smart is currently in his 10th season as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. In that time, Smart has put together a staggering 114-20 record at UGA and is widely considered the best HC in college football. In 2024, Kirby broke Nick Saban’s SEC record as the fastest coach to reach 100 wins, doing so in 117 games.
On Monday, Chris Dimino, the co-host of the popular Atlanta radio show “Cellini & Dimino” on 680 The Fan, expressed his opinions on what the Falcons should do next. He believes the team should make a strong effort to hire the two-time national championship-winning head coach from South Georgia..
“I’d make Kirby Smart, if I’m the Falcons, say no to me three times. I really would.” Dimino said.
He added on social media afterward: “They’re (Falcons) not smart enough to ask. He IS smart enough to say no (3 times).”
(The quote is at the end of this clip)
After our post gained traction and Georgia fans reacted strongly to Dimino’s harmless suggestion, the radio host stepped into the comments to clarify:
i’ll say it again
he’s the best HC in ALL of football
CFB
NFL
They aren’t smart enough to call him
He’s smart enough to say no if they did
Its incredible how this “bothers” or insults ppl
You’ve got not only the best HC..u got the best fit of any HC and team in all of the sport
An NFL head coaching job is usually a part of most careers of those who are highly successful at the college level. Smart’s mentor, Nick Saban, had a two-year stint with the Miami Dolphins after leading LSU to a national championship. After going 15-17 in the NFL, Saban left to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide ahead of the 2007 season. The previous offseason, he infamously told Miami media, “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.” Kirby Smart served as the safeties coach for the Dolphins in 2006 under Saban — his lone season in the NFL.
Georgia’s HC has been linked to multiple NFL jobs over the years, but his name being mentioned is about all it has ever amounted to.
Would Kirby Smart Ever Coach in the NFL?
In 2023, on Kirby Smart’s weekly radio show, a fan asked him if he had interest in the NFL.
“I don’t right now,” Kirby said. “I never say never to anything, but it’s not something that I’m passionate about. I love the relationship with the college kids and it’s been fun doing it here at the alma mater. It’s something you want to do for a long time and you want to have a lot of success.”
With the emotional ties Kirby Smart has to UGA, combined with all the success, it does not seem likely that the Falcons will be able to steal the national championship–winning coach. Not to mention the fact that it would start an all-out war in the state of Georgia that Arthur Blank would want no part of.
But then again, crazier things have happened.
One Response
No, crazier things have NOT happened. This would the craziest if it happened and it most definitely will not.