The Atlanta Falcons entered the final Sunday of the NFL’s 2023 regular season with a chance to go to the NFC playoffs. The Falcons needed to beat the New Orleans Saints while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Carolina Panthers.

Neither happened. The Saints defeated the Falcons 48-17 – scoring a touchdown with 70 seconds left after their coaches told them to take a knee – and the Bucs blanked the Panthers 9-0.

Atlanta won the NFL’s Black Monday, though. The Falcons announced at midnight EST they had fired coach Arthur Smith.

Sunday’s loss left Atlanta with a 7-10 record for the 2023 season – the same mark the Falcons posted in 2021 and 2022 under Smith.

“Decisions like this are never easy and they never feel good,” team owner Arthur Blank said in the midnight announcement. “We have profound respect for coach Smith and appreciate all the hard work and dedication he has put into the Falcons over the last three years. He has been part of building a good culture in our football team, but the results on the field have not met our expectations. After significant thought and reflection, we have determined the best way forward for our team is new leadership in the head-coaching position.”

Smith joined the Falcons on Jan. 15, 2021, after two seasons as the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator.

Atlanta became the third team to declare its intention to have a different coach for the 2024 season than the one it started 2023 with. Carolina and the Las Vegas Raiders finished the season under the direction of interim coaches.

With the Panthers at 1-10, Carolina fired Frank Reich. Special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor took the reins and finished the campaign with a 1-5 mark.

With the Raiders at 3-5, Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels. Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce took charge and finished the season with a 5-4 record.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.