Falcons hire Jags defensive coordinator Smith as new head coach

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Falcons say Mike Smith is everything they want in a head coach, no matter that he's never been one before.

COMMENTARY Smith's not 'sexy' choice for Falcons, just smart one by Pete Prisco • What's Your Take? Tell Pete your opinion!

The first test for Smith, the former Jacksonville defensive coordinator hired by Atlanta on Wednesday night, will be to outlast the 13-game stint of Bobby Petrino, the 2007 rookie coach who quit during the season to return to the college ranks.

"Mike possesses all of the key qualities we were looking for in a head coach," said general manager Thomas Dimitroff, in his first month on the job.

Dimitroff said the 48-year-old Smith, a 26-year coaching veteran, "has strong experience with winning teams, a track record of success, a solid, smart approach to the game, and high character and integrity."

Smith, the Jaguars' defensive coordinator since 2003, had his second interview with the Falcons on Friday.

Smith said his emphasis on each side of the line will be the running game.

"My goal is to build a well-disciplined, hard-nosed football team that will be able to run the football on offense and stop the run on defense," Smith said. "I've always believed that's what makes championship teams."

Falcons quarterback Byron Leftwich was with Smith in Jacksonville for four years.

"I've played against his defense more than anybody in the world," Leftwich said. "I did it every day in practice for four years. I think he's a great guy for the job.

"A lot of people might not know his name, but I've seen the work he puts in every game, how guys were so prepared on Sundays that they knew exactly what teams were going to do."

Smith, a former defensive assistant with Baltimore, had the league's No. 12 defense with Jacksonville this season after ranking second in 2006 and sixth in 2005.

Leftwich said Smith would never receive enough credit in Jacksonville because many assumed Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, a former defensive coordinator, was the real mastermind of the defense.

Jaguars defensive end Marcellus Wiley confirmed that opinion when he said on ESPN Wednesday, "Jack Del Rio was the defensive coordinator, and if it wasn't him, it was (linebacker) Mike Peterson."