ATLANTA -- As Mike Smith stepped away from the home team's podium inside the Georgia Dome for what more than likely was the final time, he exchanged a quick word with team owner Arthur Blank then disappeared into the locker room. The face of the Atlanta Falcons' coach was beat red from the embarrassment of a 34-3 season-ending loss to the Carolina Panthers in a matchup for the NFC South title on Sunday.
Smith knew what to expect from the interrogation that preceded his exit. He knew someone would bring up the report by ESPN's Chris Mortensen, which said the organization already retained a search firm to help track down his successor.
"Look guys, I'm not going to comment about what you guys talk about and what you guys have," Smith told reporters. "There are distractions every day you go to work. When you go to work, you have distractions at your work. When I go to work, I have distractions at my work. And I'm not going to comment about some report that probably has no validity to it."
Smith defiantly tried to squash any speculation about his future, although the dots have all but been connected.
"I've answered this many times, and I'm here as the head football coach until Arthur Blank tells me anything different," Smith said.
Well, Blank declined to make his thoughts public Sunday as he left the stadium flocked by his family. But the hiring of the search firm spoke volumes about which direction Blank is heading.
It's time for a change.
The Falcons can no longer pump their chest about what happened two seasons ago, when they went 13-3 and made it to the NFC Championship Game. Such is a distant memory when you lump back-to-back losing seasons together and fail to make the playoffs after being on the verge of a Super Bowl. The Falcons finished this season 6-10 and are 10-22 over the past two seasons.
To Smith's credit, he did take the Falcons to the playoffs in four of his seven seasons and won 66 games. But his 1-4 postseason record screams mediocrity.
Yes, it's time for a change.
Smith had an opportunity to salvage the season and possibly save his job even after the Falcons went on a five-game losing streak and started this season 2-6. The blown 21-point lead against the Lions in London and the poor clock management in a 26-24 loss to the Browns might have been an afterthought had Smith and his crew found a way to sneak into the postseason and pull off a win or two.
But in the most important game of the season and biggest of Smith's tenure on Sunday, the Falcons stunk up the joint.
It started when fullback Patrick DiMarco dropped what would have been a wide-open touchdown on a second-and-goal from the Carolina 3 early in the second quarter. Later, franchise quarterback Matt Ryan threw the first of two pick-sixes when a ball intended for Roddy White was intercepted by Panthers safety Roman Harper and returned 31 yards for a score.
White added to the misery with a fumble before halftime that was recovered by linebacker Thomas Davis and returned 33 yards. It set up Cam Newton's 4-yard touchdown that gave the Panthers an insurmountable 24-3 halftime lead.
Not to mention the same old problems that plagued the Falcons the past two seasons resurfaced. They lost the battle at line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Offensively, that resulted in Ryan being sacked six times -- he was hit 12 times -- and the running game never got going. Defensively, that allowed the Panthers to pound out 194 rushing yards, led by Newton's 51.
The pass rush was nonexistent. And when the Falcons did apply pressure, they missed opportunities to bring Newton to the ground.
That bigger, tougher, stronger motto the Falcons carried into the season was just meaningless coachspeak in the end. Now, Blank is almost certain to bring in someone else to do the talking.
Some folks around the league already believe Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has a legitimate shot once the job comes open. Current Jets coach Rex Ryan, on his way out of New York, is one of those names intriguing to the masses. And ex-49ers coach Jim Harbaugh would have been an ideal option if not for the widespread belief that he's headed to lead the University of Michigan, his alma mater.
It remains unknown whether Blank plans to blow up the entire operation. General manager Thomas Dimitroff was nowhere to be found after the game, and his seat appeared to be just as hot as Smith's due to some of his draft failures.
However it all unfolds, there's no doubt it's time for a change.
"You know what? At this point right now, I don't know what we need to do," defensive lineman Jonathan Babineaux said. "It's really out of my hands of what's going to happen in the future. I don't know if I'm going to be here.
"I'm sure there's going to be some changes. Every year, the team changes. … No team in this league from year to year stays the same. That just comes with the territory. That's just the way it is."