ATLANTA β After a third straight frustrating 7-10 season, the Atlanta Falcons parted ways late Sunday night with coach Arthur Smith.
A major offseason now looms for the Falcons, who will try to both find the coach and quarterback to get them out of a rut that's seen them below .500 now for six straight seasons.
But that's for then -- in the here and now, many fans and football observers are still taking in the news of Smith's firing, which had been looming as a possibility as the season slowly fell apart for the Falcons over the last few weeks and their playoff hopes evaporated.
For those who cover the team, it was a somber piece of news -- 11Alive's Maria Martin noted that, "It's a results driven business" but, "You hate to see anyone lose their job and I genuinely wish the Smith family well."
Joe Patrick, with 92.9 The Game, echoed those sentiments:
Others turned their attention to the way the team announced the move, which included the details that owner Arthur Blank and team CEO Rich McKay will lead the search for a new coach, "with input from Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot."
LockedOn ATL's Jarvis Davis wrote that those who follow the team could see Smith's firing coming, but, "What I don't understand is that in the press release, it stated that Arthur Blank and Rich McKay will lead the search and Fontenot will have input."
Some questioned whether Blank and McKay would be best positioned to lead this next search, while others defended their record - noting the team's general long run of success that preceded the current period.
For a lot of fans, though, it was simply a moment to exhale with a bit of levity and memes after a deflating season.