From Coach Anonymous to Coach of the Year

When the Atlanta Falcons hired Jacksonville Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith to be the team's new head coach on January 23, 2008 one question rang out among fans and critics alike.

Who?

Smith was largely anonymous to football fans and didn't seem to be on the radar for any other head coaching vacancies. He coached Ray Lewis and Adalius Thomas in Baltimore.  He led the Jaguars defense which was always ranked near the top of all defensive categories.

Smith, overly common moniker aside, is no longer anonymous. Smith met the enormous task of rebuilding the Atlanta Falcons head on, and when all was said and done he was named NFL Coach of the Year. While it seemed like an out-of-left-field hire at the time, in hindsight it makes sense why the Falcons chose Smith.

He was the anti-Petrino. While Bobby Petrino ruled with the iron fist and control freakishness befitting only an SEC coach, Smith was more upfront and honest with his players. You can't treat professional football players like 18 year old college kids. They are grown men. Smith treated them as such.

He was open eared towards his veterans and showed them the respect with which he expected to be treated. His philosophy is simple: Work hard, give it your all every snap and we'll take care of you; slack off or give me anything less than your best and I will bust some heads.

The players ate it up. 

It was a weight off their shoulders to be free from the oppressiveness of Petrino's regime. A former Jaguar player said Mike Smith was a bad hire and was essentially a care taker for Jack Del Rio's defense. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that there were reported chemistry issues in Jacksonville during last year's 5-11 season.

Smith was smart and knew he'd need great football minds alongside him to turn Atlanta's fortune around. He handed Atlanta's offense over to Mike Mularkey, one of the most respected offensive minds in football.

Mularkey spent years with Pittsburgh championing the pulverizing running attack while also designing a bevy of plays to utilize the versatility of guys like Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle-El. In year one with the Falcons, Mularkey's offense was the second best rushing offense in the league and featured the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and two Pro Bowlers, Roddy White and Michael Turner. 

On Defense, Smith brought in Brian VanGorder who he coached alongside in Jacksonville.

VanGorder cut his chops around his home state of Michigan and at Western Illinois before entering the national radar as the Defensive Coordinator at The University of Georgia. After a third stellar year with the Dogs, VanGorder was given the Frank Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach. After a year in Jacksonville, VanGorder had a disastrous year as head coach of Georgia Southern and returned to Georgia to coach Atlanta's linebackers in 2007. Smith promoted him to Defensive Coordinator in 2008.

VanGorder, in the parlance of Spinal Tap, keeps his volume and intensity level cranked to 11 at all times. He's just as likely to get in a player's face in celebration as he is in anger. His infectious attitude paid dividends in 2008.

While the Falcons were prone to giving up plenty of yards in both the pass and run games, they held opponents to 20.3 points a game, 11th best in the NFL. The Falcons ranked 29th in points allowed in 2007. 

Even with so many well thought of coaches on board, it's Smith's operation and the organization appears to have a bright future with him at the helm. Not bad for a guy who once could have been mistaken for a young Ernest Borgnine and probably needed a name tag at any league function. Now people know who he is. Mike Smith. Plain name, heck of a coach.