Mike Smith ( American football coach ) Mike Smith , known colloquially as Smitty , ( born June 13 , 1959 ) is the current head coach for the NFL ' s Atlanta Falcons , a position he has held since 2008 . He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 until his hiring in Atlanta . In his first season as Falcons head coach , Smith was recipient of the NFL Coach of the Year Award by the Associated Press . Biography . Early years . Raised in Daytona Beach , Florida , Smith played linebacker at Father Lopez Catholic High School , earning All - State honors . He played collegiately for East Tennessee State University between 1977 and 1981 , and was chosen as defensive MVP twice . He briefly played professionally for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League , for the 1982 season , before retiring as a player . Coaching career . Smith decided to take up coaching after his playing days were over , starting in various assistant capacities with several Division I colleges before moving on to the NFL : San Diego State ( 1982 – 1985 ) , Morehead State ( 1986 ) and Tennessee Tech ( 1987 – 1998 ) . His first NFL job was as defensive assistant / defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 under defensive line coach Rex Ryan for three seasons . In 2002 , he was promoted to linebackers ' coach for head coach Brian Billick , tutoring such future standouts as Ray Lewis , Peter Boulware , Jamie Sharper and Adalius Thomas , and in that capacity helped the 2000 Ravens win Super Bowl XXXV . On January 21 , 2003 he was again promoted , moving on to be defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars for incoming head coach Jack Del Rio . In 2008 , he became head coach for the first time at any level , taking charge of the Atlanta Falcons and starting off his first season by installing rookie Matt Ryan as starting quarterback to open the season against the Detroit Lions . In his debut as an NFL head coach , his Falcons beat the Lions 34 – 21 . Atlanta ’ s 216 yards of total offense in the first quarter was the highest in over two decades , eclipsing their October 13 , 1991 mark of 172 yards against San Francisco . His first loss , against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , was mitigated by winning his first coach ' s challenge , on the spotting of the ball after a Roddy White reception in the third quarter , giving the Falcons a first down and keeping the drive alive . Stars like Michael Turner , Roddy White , Michael Jenkins and John Abraham helped him carry the Falcons to their first playoff berth since 2004 , although they lost fairly narrowly to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in the wild - card round of the 2008 NFL playoffs . He was named the 2008 AP Coach of the year and NFL Coach of the Year , beating out Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano in the voting . In his second season , Smith and the Falcons overcame a difficult schedule and several key injuries ( to QB Ryan and RB Turner ) to end up with a 9 - 7 finish and second place in the NFC South . While they failed to reach the playoffs , this marked the first time the team had ever had back - to - back winning seasons . In 2010 , he led the Falcons to a NFC - best season record of 13 - 3 , earning the team ' s second NFC South title and fourth divisional championship overall before being thrashed at home by the eventual Super Bowl XLV champions , the Green Bay Packers , 48 - 21 in the NFC Divisional Round . The 2011 season ended with another winning record ( 10 - 6 ) and Smith ' s third playoff appearance ( unfortunately , a first - round rout , by another eventual Super Bowl champion , the New York Giants . Under Smith , the Falcons have had winning seasons in all five years of his tenure to date , and three consecutive playoff seasons , both franchise records . In the 2012 season , Smith earned his 50th win by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles on October 28th , passing Dan Reeves as the winningest coach in Falcons history . Smith reached 50 wins in 71 games , which is good for 3rd best all - time since the AFL - NFL merger in 1970 , surpassed only by Chuck Knox who earned his 50th win in 65 games and by George Seifert in 62 games . On January 13 , 2013 , Smith recorded his first win in the postseason as Falcons head coach , edging the Seattle Seahawks 30 - 28 in the . With the win , Atlanta also made their 3rd all - time appearance in the NFC Championship Game , and will host the game for the first time in their history against the San Francisco 49ers . Coach Smith was named AOL _ SportingNews 2013 Coach of the Year by a pool of 27 NFL coaches and executives . With receiving the award this third time it places him with the likes of Joe Gibbs , Chuck Knox , and Paul Brown . Mike received his three awards as fast though as Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns , who won his three similarly in five years . At present Don Shula holds the highest rank of four , in the history with the Sporting News ' award . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Mike Smith has served : Assistant coaches under Mike Smith who became NFL head coaches : Personal . Smith and his wife , Julie , have one daughter , Logan . He is the brother - in - law of Brian Billick .