FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons coach Mike Smith was back at work on Monday, polishing off the game plan for a Thursday night meeting with Jacksonville at the Georgia Dome, with no apparent health drawbacks.
Following Sunday’s Falcons-Carolina game, Smith, 52, had chest pains and was taken to a hospital before the team’s charter flight left for Atlanta.
“I feel a whole lot better today than I did yesterday, I can assure you that,” Smith said.
Smith had undisclosed tests and arrived back in Atlanta at 3 a.m. He was at the team’s facilities around 3:30 p.m. and held a team meeting at 4 p.m.
The Falcons held a 40-minute walk-through that was closed to the media. Smith said he planned to leave the facilities early, but wanted to be back at work early Tuesday morning.
“Anytime you’re in a short week, it’s a stressful week simply because you don’t have enough hours in the day to get what you normally get accomplished,” Smith said. “But, hey, we’ve got to go play and we’re going to be ready to go on Thursday.”
Smith said he has had to make some lifestyle changes, but doesn’t plan to change his coaching style.
“I’m going to have to evaluate some of the things that I do, but not coaching this team,” Smith said. “In terms of how we coach this team, we’re going to keep doing it the way we’ve always done it simply because it’s the only way I know how to do it.”
Smith, like most coaches around the NFL, has been known to spend a few nights at the facilities. He has his own room in the team’s dormitories.
“It’s a commitment that every person that’s involved in this league, whether you’re a head coach, whether you’re a player, whether you’re support staff, it takes a commitment of a lot of hours,” Smith said. “There’s no 9-to-5 jobs in this organization or any organization in the NFL. So, it’s a long season. It’s a long year. Everybody in the organization is committed to winning and doing the best that we can. I don’t think you have to police it."
After the tumultuous 2007 season, in which quarterback Michael Vick was sent to federal prison on dog-fighting charges and head coach Bobby Petrino left the team after 13 games, Smith was hired in January 2008.
Smith guided the Falcons to an 11-5 mark in his first season and earned a playoff berth. He was named NFL coach of the year by Sporting News and the Associated Press.
In Smith’s second season, he guided the Falcons to a 9-7 mark and became the first coach to guide the franchise to back-to-back winning seasons.
After directing the Falcons to a 13-3 record and winning the NFC South title last season, Smith was again selected NFL coach of the year by Sporting News. The Falcons were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but were upset by the Green Bay Packers.
After last season, Smith signed a three-year contract extension in February.
With three games to play, the Falcons are 8-5 and fighting for another playoff berth. The team is 41-20 under Smith.
Smith originally signed a four-year contract that was worth between $8 million to $10 million. Terms of the contract extension were not disclosed.
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