Arthur Smith, who inherited a rebuilding project in his first NFL head coaching job and failed to lift Atlanta from their playoff drought hours after completing his third straight losing season with the Falcons. The Washington Commanders made the next move hours later, firing Ron Rivera. The fate of others, including Bill Belichick, on Black Monday remains unclear with the New England Patriots head coach saying that “I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do, which is every day I come in, work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can.”
The Commanders’ firing of Rivera is the first move of many expected by the team’s new owners as they put their stamp on the franchise they bought last year.
