Arthur Smith is one of the best coaches in the NFL. He had coaching experience of 17 years when he started his career in 2006 as a North Carolina graduate assistant. At present, he is the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Recently, the coach and the player were fined $25,000 and $75,000. The National Football League authority charged the fine due to policy violation. After the Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the club coach was alleged to be violating the league’s Injury Report Policy.
It is reported that before the game, the running back of the Falcons had an illness before the fixture against Buccaneers. The club or coach did not announce Bijan Robinson’s sickness news and could not include the player in the injury report.
𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧: #Falcons HC Arthur Smith was fined $75,000 for failing to put Bijan Robinson on the injury report with an illness back in week 7.
Owner Arthur Smith was also fined $25,000 pic.twitter.com/crNPxUs5o6
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) December 22, 2023
Every team has to include the names of all their injured players in the injury report. If they cannot do so, they have to face fines and other punishments, which will be treated as a breach of protocol.
For that reason, the NFL authority fined both the club and coach. This fine was made by the authority in order to maintain discipline and fairness in the league. The Falcons won the match with a scoreline of 16-13. On that fixture, the rookie running back made a single carry of only 3 yards and a minimum of 111 snaps.
Since joining the franchise, the rookie has played a vital role, making 801 rushes, 41 receptions for 323 yards, and three touchdowns. Bijan Robinson started 13 games for the Atlanta Falcons in his debut season.
Arthur Smith’s coaching career
Arthur Smith is one of the most experienced coaches in the league. He started his NFL coaching career at Washington Redskins in 2007 as a defensive quality control coach. Smith coached the club for just one season and left in 2008.
He returned to football in 2010 as a defensive intern or administrative assistant for Ole Miss. In 2011, he left the club and joined the NFL side Tennessee Titans, continuing his coaching career there until 2020.
In his nine years of coaching at Titans, he appeared in different coaching roles such as offensive quality control, offensive line, assistant tight ends and tight ends, and offensive coordinator.
After leaving the franchise, he joined the Atlanta Falcons and started working as a head coach for the first time in his career. However, he has yet to win the Super Bowl in the Titans hot seat. Titans finished the league at 4th spot last season, and they lie at 4th in the league.