High-Profile Coaching Search Sets Up Falcons' Arthur Blank for Another Failure

The last thing Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank wants to do this offseason is pull another Bobby Petrino.

By definition, a Bobby Petrino is "an act of hiring one of the hottest names on the coaching market despite not being ready to lead an NFL franchise who subsequently leaves his team before his first year is complete." 

Blank may eventually repeat his biggest mistake by limiting his next coaching search. 

CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reported Blank is leaning toward firing head coach Mike Smith after the season and will attempt to replace him with an "A-list" candidate: 

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 ...Blank has become increasingly frustrated with his team's descent into the bottom rung of the NFL and is irate about his 2014 product, according to a source close to him.

Coach Mike Smith is not expected to be back next season, according to the source, with his job security now become a regular topic of conversation in Atlanta. Blank is mulling a move for a big-name head coach to help usher his team into the new stadium he is constructing.

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It sounds great in theory. 

Falcons fans would get extremely excited about the direction of a franchise after being 6-18 over the past 24 games. It shows a commitment from the team's owner by demanding the best at every level of the organization. And Blank would look favorable after sparing no expense as the team prepares to move into a beautiful new stadium in three years (see: below). 

AtlantaFalcons.com

However, there is absolutely no reason to conduct a coaching search based on preconceived notions. 

The NFL's best coaches all came from different situations and backgrounds. None of them were destined for greatness based purely on their pedigree. An owner can't sit back and demand a certain type of hire without severely limiting the available pool of options at his disposal. 

By searching for only highest-profile coaches, it gives the appearance of wanting to make a splash instead of finding the right candidate to fill the job. 

Over the last 10 seasons, eight different head coaches have won a Super Bowl, which is the ultimate goal of any franchise. 

Super Bowl	Coach	Team	Previous job
XXXIX	Bill Belichick	Patriots	Jets assistant head coach
XL	Mike Tomlin	Steelers	Vikings defensive coordinator
XLI	Tony Dungy	Colts	Bucs head coach
XLII	Tom Coughlin	Giants	Jaguars head coach
XLIII	Mike Tomlin	Steelers	Vikings defensive coordinator
XLIV	Sean Payton	Saints	Cowboys assistant head coach
XLV	Mike McCarthy	Packers	49ers offensive coordinator
XLVI	Tom Coughlin	Gaints	Jaguars head coach
XLVII	John Harbaugh	Ravens	Eagles special teams coordinator
XLVIII	Pete Carroll	Seahawks	USC head coach

Among those coaches there were retread head coaches, neophyte coordinators, position coaches and even one college coach who previously failed at the NFL level. 

There simply isn't a magical formula to find a great leader of men.

Bill Belichick was 36-44 in five seasons as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns before he served as an assistant for Bill Parcells and eventually took over the New England Patriots. One the flip side of the argument, Mike Tomlin only spent one season as a coordinator and six years in the NFL before being offered the Pittsburgh Steelers job. John Harbaugh is also a rarity, going from a special teams coordinator to a head coach. 

These examples fall all over the spectrum, yet each of them have won Super Bowls. It doesn't take a certain type of person to lead an NFL franchise. It takes the right person for the situation in which he's being placed. 

Petrino, for example, didn't have a clue how to handle a locker room full of professional football players. Whereas, Blank made an interesting hire a year later by selecting Mike Smith as the team's head coach. 

Gail Burton/Associated Press

Of the two, Petrino spectacularly flamed out despite being an exciting hire at that time. Smith, meanwhile, built a successful program during his first five years after he toiled in relative obscurity as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator.

Smith certainly wasn't a sexy hire, but he was far more effective than the one Blank made a year earlier. 

The dichotomy of these two hires should show exactly how different each coaching search can be, and an owner shouldn't have his heart set on a certain type of coach. It's far more beneficial to keep an open mind and see which candidate walks into a room for an interview and absolutely owns it. 

Blank will have many options from which to choose. The Falcons will be one of the most enticing jobs in the NFL once Smith is dismissed. 

No team can offer a combination quite like the Falcons. Quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones are in their prime years. The team is currently positioned to own a top-10 pick in April's draft. The roster is approximately $10 million under the current salary cap (with even more room if the cap raises) for the 2015 season. And the brand-new start-of-the-art stadium being built is just the icing on the cake. 

Atlanta's franchise quarterback will certainly be one of the most enticing attractions for any coach considering the position. Other teams with coaches on the hot seat don't have the same luxury, which makes this entire approach all the more interesting. 

High-profile coaches will be interested. Blank will have to decide if any of them are the right fit. 

A few potential candidates are quite intriguing. 

Any organization with an opening is contractually obligated—or so it seems—to have former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and current Monday Night Football color commentator Jon Gruden listed as a possibility. The coach-turned-television-personality raves about Ryan any chance he gets, as he did in an interview with NOLA.com four years ago:

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What a premier competitor he is. You can tell how into it he is. And what a student of the game he is. Making checks at the line of scrimmage. He rarely gets fooled.

He's more mobile than people think. And he can throw the ball, man, get it outside, get it down the field. And he's tough as hell. He'll stand in the pocket and take a hit.

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However, Gruden had his choice of jobs in recent years if he was actually interested in getting out of the television booth. Only one organization seems to intrigue Gruden enough to leave the cushy gig, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport: 

Another intriguing possibility is acquiring Jim Harbaugh from the San Francisco 49ers. After all, the 49ers nearly traded their head coach to the Cleveland Browns last offseason.

The Falcons may not even need to make a drastic move to acquire Jim Harbaugh. The 49ers are currently 4-4, which places them three games behind the division-leading Arizona Cardinals. Tensions have been high between the coach, his players and the organization all season. The Falcons could swoop in and capitalize as a result. 

Another coach that has yet to actually lose his job but will draw plenty of interest around the league if he does is the New York Jets' Rex Ryan. 

Ryan would be a stark contrast to Smith with his boisterous personality and ability to grab a headline or two. The Jets coach also has a much longer history of developing strong defenses, which has been a major hindrance for the Falcons with their 32nd-ranked defensive unit. 

Blank may even consider dipping into the collegiate ranks again. Alabama's Nick Saban and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin would be the likely targets. 

Saban could have had his choice of NFL jobs in recent years, but he decided to retain the best job in college football. There are very few places in this football-crazed country where boosters would actually pay off Saban's $3.1 million home like they did in Alabama, according to Al.com. Saban is also 63 years old and already had his chance to prove himself at the NFL level (which he failed miserably). 

Sumlin, 50, has yet to test the NFL waters. 

The Texas A&M head coach expects to be in the NFL some day, but he's not rushing the job he's currently doing in College Station, Texas. 

Sumlin discussed his NFL options with The Dallas Morning News' Rick Gosselin in August: 

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I’d consider it, maybe sometime, but not any time soon. I just got here. I’ve still got a lot of things to try to accomplish in college football.

Most people, whatever you do, eventually want to be at the top of that field. That’s just natural. You want to compete — whether it’s your job or livelihood. You want to be the best at whatever you’re doing, to be at a level where you can say you competed at the top.

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Even though any of these options could eventually develop into legitimate candidates for the Falcons, there are less-heralded names that shouldn't be overlooked. 

A quick look around the NFL will tell you that there are coordinators doing tremendous jobs with the talent they are currently coaching. 

Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Philadelphia Eagles special teams coordinator Dave Fipp are all primed to become head coaches. At worst, Blank should fully vet these candidates. Each of them are talented coaches who could prove to be the next great NFL head coach if given the chance.

Blank can't place himself into the same situation he did in 2007 when he decided the headline-grabbing hire of Petrino was a better move than even considering Tomlin, who only interviewed with the Steelers and Dolphins. Petrino was out of the league after 13 games. Tomlin, meanwhile, has taken his team to two Super Bowls. 

Glitz and glamour don't matter if it's not backed by substance. It's nice to fill up your stadium for a year or two after making a big hire, but it's far more important to build sustained success. This is the fine line Blank will walk after he makes his decision regarding Smith's future.

The owner hasn't quite figured it out during his last two hires. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

All salary information obtained from Spotrac.com.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.