Arthur Smith: Matt Ryan wants to be coached, it’s my job to push him

[Freddie Falcon]

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith is brand new in Atlanta, while quarterback Matt Ryan is the established face of the franchise. But Smith says he isn’t hesitating to push Ryan in the offseason program.

Part of that is because Ryan wants to be pushed. Smith says Ryan embraces his coaching.

“It’s my job as a coach to push him and to also listen,” Smith said, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Matt wants to be coached, and that’s what I love about the guy. He’s going into Year 14, and he wants to be coached. The great players, they want to be coached.”

Smith said he and Ryan are getting on the same page.

“It’s relationship building every day, play-caller to quarterback,” Smith said. “That’s just my philosophy.”

The 36-year-old Ryan may not have many years left in Atlanta, but Smith wants to help him make the most of the time he does have left.