Falcons ‘won’t be close-minded’ when hiring Dean Pees replacement

“Whether you have the hybrid guys we do or defensive ends for four-down fronts, that gets overstated sometimes,” Smith said. “Really, it’s about being flexible. There are a lot of guys in a lot of great schemes in this league. … When you’re building a hybrid model, you’re not looking for an overhaul. We’ve been building something here.”

Smith used the Baltimore Ravens as an example of a franchise that built a defense right. They have been able to sustain success despite turnover at the coordinator spots – as a note, Pees called plays there for six seasons – without having to overhaul personnel.

“They’ve had a lot of different coordinators and a lot of success, and those guys have tweaked different things and made it their own, but the way they’ve drafted, with the vision to play multiple fronts, hasn’t changed no matter who the play caller is,” Smith said. “That foundation has been built.”

Smith said it will be “refreshing” to speak with candidates from different schematic backgrounds and theories on how to run a defense.

At the same time, general manager Terry Fontenot pointed out that Smith understands good defense, in part because he knows what schemes impact him as an offensive mind.

“Arthur knows what he wants on defense,” Fontenot said. “As a head coach and play caller, he doesn’t stay on one side of the building and focus on the offense. He’s involved in every phase, every area. He has always known what types of structure he wants. He knows what affects him as a play caller and what you struggle with. He knows what he wants a defense to look like. … It’s not like we’re bringing in a new visionary of the defense and he’s going to have a whole different – Arthur really knows what he’s looking for.”

Fontenot also knows what he and the Falcons are looking for regarding defensive personnel. He won’t require wholesale changes because Pees stepped away and another defensive coordinator stepped in.

“We’ll be strategic in that, and when we sign and draft players, we won’t be prisoners of the moment,” Fontenot said. “We’re drafting players who can be multiple and fit what we’re looking for.”