With Falcons reeling, Arthur Blank expected to go after A-list coach

Falcons owner Arthur 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.

 Should he land an A-list head coach, the immediate question becomes would that coach be comfortable with the front office as presently constructed, or would he want to hire his own general manager instead. Blank has tried to land proven winners in the past, spurned by Bill Parcells for one, and his level of dissatisfaction with his club’s 6-18 performance since reaching the NFC Championship Game cannot be overstated, the source said, which has many expecting Blank will go big with his next hire and be willing to do whatever is necessary to get his guy.

“Arthur has an angry side to him,” the source said. “He can turn on someone and he can turn quickly. He’s not nearly as mellow as his public perception would make you think.”

The Falcons offensive line, decimated by injuries, has remained a major concern, leading to quarterback Matt Ryan, a $20M-a-year investment, getting hit far too often amid what is becoming a lost season for him. The team has been unable to find pass rushers for years and in a fickle pro sports market, at a time when Blank will be trying to convince fans to purchase expensive personal seat licenses with the team falling well short of expectations, there is a growing expectation that he will be willing to make drastic changes to his organization in hopes to making the Falcons contenders again in 2015.

Every year there is speculation about Jon Gruden leaving the broadcast booth to return as an NFL head coach, and this offseason the 49ers are expected to consider trade offers for their coach, Jim Harbaugh, with those sides unable to get anywhere on contract talks in the past. There could be several options for him to pursue, and any hotly coveted coach generally comes with his own thoughts about how the organization and front office should be structured.