Update: Ray Hamilton’s response to Mike Smith’s apology
Falcons coach Mike Smith during Sunday's heated game. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Falcons coach Mike Smith today expressed remorse for his actions on the sideline near the end of his team’s breathless victory over Carolina on Sunday and said he has apologized to defensive line coach Ray Hamilton.
“It was something that happened in the heat of battle,” Smith said, speaking by phone from team headquarters in Flowery Branch.
Of Hamilton, Smith said: “Ray and I have worked together for 10 years [including five when the two were assistants in Jacksonville]; he’s one of my closest friends in coaching … I apologized to him this morning. I said, ‘I’m very sorry about my action. I’m very sorry about what happened last night.’ ”
Said Hamilton, also via phone: “Mike mentioned it to me this morning. I didn’t even realize anything had happened. I didn’t give it a second thought until somebody called me and asked about it this morning.”
Of Smith’s apology, Hamilton said: “His apology is fine. I’ve been coaching 27 years. On the sideline, all kinds of shoving goes on. You’d be amazed at the stuff that gets said down there. But there’s nothing ever disrespectful. Smitty’s a first-class guy.”
Matt Bryant’s field goal had given the Falcons a 30-28 lead with five seconds remaining, but they still had to defend one last play. After a touchback on the kickoff, Carolina took possession at its 20. Smith saw that the Falcons had only 10 players on the field — he would not identify the missing man — and was less than pleased.
Said Smith: “We were trying to finish the game. We were trying to get the right personnel. We didn’t have the right number of players.”
Fox cameras caught an angry Smith putting both hands on Hamilton’s arm and administering a slight shove. Said Smith: “I was on a tirade — that’s all. I did not push him. I was on a tirade and I threw my hands.”
Thinking quickly, Smith signaled for a timeout before Carolina could snap the ball, knowing full well the Falcons had used their final allotted timeout just after the two-minute warning. He also knew that NFL rules don’t levy a penalty when a team tries to call a timeout it doesn’t have.
The Falcons were able to send an 11th defender into the game while the officials were telling Smith he couldn’t have a timeout, which was his intention all along. “I was trying to get 11 guys on the field,” he said. “We didn’t have 11 guys.”
Mission accomplished. John Abraham sacked Cam Newton on the final play and the Falcons left with one of their most stirring victories in Smith’s four-plus seasons as head coach. In Smith’s mind, however, his tactical coup did not excuse the anger he expressed toward Hamilton.
“Sideline etiquette is important,” Smith said. “I’ve got to be 100 percent. I wasn’t 100 percent.”
For the record, Smith’s 2012 team holds a winning percentage of 1.000. The Falcons are 4-0. And with Sunday’s victory, Smith (47-21) passed Leeman Bennett (46-41) as the second-winningest coach in franchise history. Dan Reeves (49-59-1) ranks first.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
290 comments Add your comment
ueeediot
October 1st, 2012
1:31 pm
Could you also ask the coach how does he manage to effectively coach his team while standing 40 yds away from the line of scrimmage?
Kinda makes it difficult to tell when the ball is not spotted correctly, huh, coach…
phil
October 1st, 2012
1:33 pm
Brilliant?
Try stupid, admitting what you did and now not being able to do it again one day when the rule gets changed….
And of course Bradley thinks a penalty should’ve been called. He was dying to see a Panthers win yesterday, based on his moronic comments down the stretch….ridiculous.
Get Back Jojo
October 1st, 2012
1:34 pm
Quit whining!!
Great game Falcons!!
Great coaching Mike Smith!!
4 n 0!!
Enough said!!
GO FALCONS!!
David Puddy
October 1st, 2012
1:35 pm
“Sorry but Mike Smith is a thug. I saw him push an opposing player who happened to run into him on the sidelines. He got no class.”
Nothing wrong with having a bit of Woody Hayes in you.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
1:37 pm
So Grumpy Old Man can’t control his temper and gets a free pass from
the LOSERS know as Falcants fans……………
Lets reverse the roles………..
Did you FOOLS feel it was okay when Steve Smith decked his teammate
a few years ago?…..In the heat of the moment right?
Commissioner says…..Don’t damage the shield…….
Expect another fine Grumpy Old Man……………
Don’t get mad because you SUCKKKKKKKKKKK
HA HA
Esquire
October 1st, 2012
1:39 pm
I went back and looked at the “in the heat of battle” episode and to some degree Smith’s assessment of “I was on a tirade and I threw my hands” is correct, however, someone could also say they saw him shove at coach Hamilton. Some might even say in thrusting his hands out at Coach Hamilton that he struck him. What disturbs me is some of the street clothed personnel seem to be laughing at Smith and you can see Arthur is clearly not pleased with the action. We don’t need people on our own sideline laughing at our coach. Once he loses control of the sideline he is toast. If Coach Hamilton was Smith’s wife Smith would be in jail for spousal abuse.
tom
October 1st, 2012
1:40 pm
7 sacks on Ryan??? Need to get this fixed quick.
tom
October 1st, 2012
1:42 pm
When is Edwarrds going to get a sack. Physical stud who cannot get the job done.Abraham is still schooling him with little results.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
1:42 pm
HA HA HA
Arthur is tired of the playoff excuses………
Arthur probably told Smith….if you screw this up you are out
of here you LOSER…..
So just like a bully Smith took it out on someone else……….
LOSER
HA HA
hind tit
October 1st, 2012
1:43 pm
He might not lose his composure the owner wasn’t looking over his shoulder every game. To me as a fan it shows very little class by an owner roaming the sidelines.
HowBoutThat
October 1st, 2012
1:43 pm
It’s a sign of a personal weakness… the very best would never go there (eg Belicheck). He’s a middle of the pack guy but good enough to win a super bowl.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
October 1st, 2012
1:46 pm
It’s funny but John Harbaugh came into head coaching the same year as Smith and has 5 playoff wins and 2 championship games but he never raises his voice and sure does not belittle people.
Class vs No Class
Results vs Hype
HA HA
WAS THERE
October 1st, 2012
1:48 pm
Mike Smith…class act, a man’s man, took responsibility for being human, and caring as much as he does. Thank you for being the coach you are, and the man you are–and thank you Ray Hamilton for giving Smitty the benefit of the doubt and seeing it for what it was–let’s stay focused, boys, we’re gettin’ it done. Was at the game, and I STILL can’t talk above a whisper…just AWESOME!!!
WAS THERE
October 1st, 2012
1:50 pm
J MOrrill…good, we don’t want you as a fan–go cheer for the Saints…
WAS THERE
October 1st, 2012
1:51 pm
Hey BARRY–dude, lose the caps–our eyeballs are gonna explode!!!
allen981
October 1st, 2012
1:52 pm
If the Falcons lose yesterday – and they should have – this thing is a much bigger deal. My wife even saw it. In fact, he glared at and exchanged words with A. Blank just before this happened. Smith can minimize it all he wants, but he shoved/hit his assistant, in full view of his boss.
An out of control coach on the sidelines distracts the team – every time. They got away with one yesterday, but the fact is, the team was out of control at a crucial point in the game.
That’s Smith’s fault. It’s Blank’s fault that he (Blank) continues to idiotically show up on the sidelines when he ought to be in the owner’s box.
We looked flat
October 1st, 2012
1:58 pm
I agree, great teams win ugly games but if we came out flat against a better team, it would have gotten real ugly.
Under The Bleachers
October 1st, 2012
1:59 pm
Mark,
Would love to see your comments on the state of Georgia Football with a 1/3 of the the college season gone, and a 1/4 of the NFL season gone.
Falcons- winning while improving some major holes that were open in 2011
Georgia- losing IC was not a bad thing, getting Gurley was a good thing, big games ahead
GT- just see this program moving backwards not forward.
Georgia State- Not the way Curry wanted to go out.
Under The Bleachers
October 1st, 2012
2:00 pm
By the way:
Football is a Contact Sport – even on the sidelines.
Sonic Boom
October 1st, 2012
2:02 pm
On another topic – Has anyone heard the radio clip of Wes Durham on the :59 second throw and catch from Ryan to White…….Funniest thing I’ve heard in a while on a radio broadcast.
Paddy
October 1st, 2012
2:02 pm
George..@ 12:07……..I hope you never choose sports coaching as a profession. You would not last one week in any sport at any level!
beerad
October 1st, 2012
2:03 pm
You have a job to do. He had not gotten his players and his job done to preserve the victory. He needed that and more. Games are won and lost on less. Coaches can’t make mistakes at all.
John H.
October 1st, 2012
2:04 pm
I am glad the Falcons won. But Mike Smith looked liked an idiot on TV with that tirade. If that was one of his white assistant coaches he would have been more calm.
TheTruth
October 1st, 2012
2:05 pm
He is lying about the incident, which tells me he’s tryingto downplay it.
Smith not only shoved his coach, he laid into him as hard as he could. It took several players and coaches standiing nearby to ensure a brawl didn’t break out. I was in shock…and so were the announcers, watching it. It was a serious instance of inappropriate behavior and Smith is now trying to lie about what he did / didn’t do.
I’m not okay with that. I wonder if Arthur is?
pike
October 1st, 2012
2:07 pm
Anyone that is critical of Coach Smith for what happened on the sidelines at the end of the game has never been in a competitive situation in his life. I saw Chuck Noel grab an assistant and spin him around. I saw Tom Landry follow and berate an assistant coach for about 20 yards down the sideline. It happens to everybody if you are in that situation enough times. Bottom line the assistant coach was not doing his job getting the players on the field. Do your job and nothing happens.
pike
October 1st, 2012
2:09 pm
don’t even start the BS here John H. Who do you think HIRED THE BLACK COACH YOU GENIOUS?
pike
October 1st, 2012
2:10 pm
genius…sorry
Jeremiah Wright
October 1st, 2012
2:19 pm
Trying to make a racial issue out of this is so wrong.
kreedham
October 1st, 2012
2:19 pm
Seems to me that if they didn’t have any timeouts that the ref should have just ignored the call for one!
Peter
October 1st, 2012
2:21 pm
Mike has been the man….. we are getting better as a team, and he is the reason.
@TOM
October 1st, 2012
2:22 pm
Ryan needs to get out of the pocket more and he needs to throw the ball away and stop accepting coverage sacks.
andrew
October 1st, 2012
2:24 pm
i wonder what the replacement refs wouldve done with smith calling for a TO he didnt have… Thoughts Mark? hahaha
pushy
October 1st, 2012
2:24 pm
I’m confused. The link on ajc.com references Smith’s ‘push’, but the only reference to that word in this blog post is Smith saying “I did not push him.” There’s no description by the writer of what Smith DID, which was (and everyone saw it who was watching that game) PUSH Ray Hamilton. No two ways about it. But instead we have him expressing remorse for “his actions.” How about a little specificity, Mark? It was a push, so let’s not let the coach spin it otherwise, apology notwithstanding.
RBI
October 1st, 2012
2:24 pm
Mike Smith is the best coach the Falcons have ever had!
Arlito
October 1st, 2012
2:29 pm
Smitty was simply paying a throwback tribute to Jim Mitchell and Art Malone. They were such competitors, they went to blows in the offensive huddle.
Panthers Roar
October 1st, 2012
2:30 pm
Classless by Smith. And you all pile on Cam Newton for being upset his team lost.
Classless Falcant fans.
Go Falcons!
October 1st, 2012
2:31 pm
He apologized, it was accepted, enough said.
The Ghost of Norm Van Brocklin
October 1st, 2012
2:39 pm
Hell, I’ll take (1) Smitty on a tirade and (2) Matt at QB any ol day
Over
(1) Jimmy Mora doing the chest bump with his pet players and (2) the Dawg-killer at QB.
The Falcon Project
October 1st, 2012
2:40 pm
Loved the last line of this.
Bubba
October 1st, 2012
2:41 pm
Smith appears to have some “deep seated” issues in his life. If so, they will eventually surface and they may not be related to football.
GSUStud
October 1st, 2012
2:41 pm
No apoligies necessary Coach Smith. I love the passion! Pass it on!
GT
October 1st, 2012
2:42 pm
A lot of confusion on that sideline. You wonder about Blanks coming down and taking his bows, look at the side line and about a third of them belong there. Somewhere there will be someone blowing off that this confusion doesn’t bother anything, but I think it gets the players out of concentration, especially if the sideline has self important people who do not get out of the way, of the coaches and participating players.
ha
October 1st, 2012
2:42 pm
On My Way to a whining convention waa waa waa! beotch
after further review
October 1st, 2012
2:45 pm
Until reading this article, I thought it was inadvertently.
When I was living in Macon back in the early eighties, there was an article in the Macon Telegraph about Bo Jackson. This might have been Bo’s jr year. Anyway, the article was about how Bo didn’t want to practice in his earlier years and an assistant told Bo he would kick him in his azz. They said Bo told the coach if he ever raises him foot to kick him, it would be his last time. From that day on, Bo practiced when he wanted to and apparently Pat Dye had no problem with it. Yeah, teenager or not, Bo would not be the guy you would want to kick. After reading that article, I became a huge Bo Jackson fan.
Drunk players and mad coach
October 1st, 2012
2:54 pm
What’s next? Arthur Blank holding a woman’s red panties?
I Know
October 1st, 2012
2:55 pm
A win is a win – less we forget Ryan was sacked 6 times.
Bruce Raglin in HI.
October 1st, 2012
2:56 pm
WOW ball on the one no timeouts down by one what a play Ryan to White great teams make great plays go FALCONS
Yankee
October 1st, 2012
2:56 pm
IOW, Smith cheated in order to cover up his incompetence. To get 11 men on the field, it would have been a simple matter for a buzzard to jump offside before the snap. 5-yd penalty. Get 11 buzzards on the field before the next snap. But, Smith chose to cheat. I hope the buzzards go 16-0. It’ll be that much funnier when they lose their first-round playoff game. As they always do under Smith.
BiggDawgK
October 1st, 2012
2:56 pm
If you don’t get worked up in a tight game like that even as a fan then not only are you not a sports fan, you might actually be dead.
I already thought Smitty was a great coach who is loved by fans, players and his staff but I have to give him mb super kudos for some quick and brilliant strategy. I was listening on the radio since I had just left the Braves game so I missed the heated exchange but I’m sure it was quickly forgiven and forgotten by both parties.
Now lets see how many whiners with no lifes can make this an issue about race or anger management or whatever else they can cook up.
hit a single
October 1st, 2012
2:59 pm
Many head football coaches at any level think they are God. I have heard many cuss their assistants. Well it happened to me once and I regret today that I didn’t knock the hell out of my head coach.