JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -No one expects the Atlanta Falcons to finish near first place in the NFC South, but players give new coach Mike Smith credit when they say they already feel they're on top.
"We've been to the valley and now it's the mountaintop," fullback Ovie Mughelli said.
For Mughelli, the valley was the short-lived Bobby Petrino era. Petrino left bitter players behind in Atlanta when he quit with a 3-10 mark and three games left in the 2007 season.
Smith was hired after the season from Jacksonville, where he worked the last five years as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator. Smith will have an NFL homecoming on Saturday night when his Falcons visit the Jaguars in the preseason opener for both teams.
Smith faces difficult challenges in his first year as a head coach. He has joined new general manager Thomas Dimitroff to lead the rebuilding of the Falcons, who jettisoned such big-name veterans as Warrick Dunn, DeAngelo Hall, Rod Coleman and Alge Crumpler and may have a rookie starting quarterback in Matt Ryan.
Smith said Thursday veteran Chris Redman, who finished the 2007 season as the starter, will open the game. Smith's goal is for the other quarterbacks, including Ryan, to receive equal playing time.
Petrino was sharply criticized from all corners of the locker room after he quit with three games left in the season and took a job at Arkansas without addressing players. Petrino came to Atlanta from Louisville, and players said they were treated like college players.
Smith, who has worked the last nine years in the NFL, has been a hit.
"We had the worst and now we appreciate the best," Mughelli said. "We appreciate it. Some guys around the league don't appreciate good coaches, but when you've been through tough times you definitely appreciate it when a good coach comes in."
Smith is Atlanta's sixth coach since December 2003, including the third full-time coach in three years. Before Petrino quit, Dan Reeves and Jim Mora were fired. Wade Phillips and Emmitt Thomas worked three games each as interim replacements.
Defensive end Chauncey Davis said the mood is upbeat under Smith.
"I feel it. It's like you want to come to work now," Davis said. "Last year no one really wanted to come after the season got started. We were losing and the whole situation with Petrino made it so that we weren't really feeling it. Now, it's totally different. Everyone wants to come to work. We're excited."
Smith has more than NFL roots in Florida. He grew up in Daytona Beach and he said his family will attend his preseason debut.
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