Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has given his backing to head coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff despite the team's poor form this season.
The Falcons were comfortably beaten 41-28 by the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday, taking their overall season record to 2-8.
Their form is in stark contrast to their impressive records in recent seasons and, while Blank admits that this year has been "disheartening", he believes that Smith and Dimitroff have earned his faith.
"We love our head coach and we love our general manager. It's up to them to candidly look at everybody - candidly, honestly, critically - and see what we have to do. There should be nobody that escapes that critique. That's their job, and I have confidence they'll do it. And they are doing it. And they will do it," Blank told reporters.
"The old days, the Atlanta Falcons were going up and down every year - 36 years - so we've had five great years - second-most wins in the league. Obviously what's disheartening is this year, when you're sitting at 2-8 with the expectations that were reasonable coming into this year. It's very disappointing for our fans [and] for everybody connected to the franchise.
"I absolutely do [have faith in Smith and Dimitroff]. They've earned it over the last five years. This is a tough business, and we've had a lot of injuries. [There have] been a lot of other issues on top of the injuries, and that's pretty obvious. These guys are proven leaders and proven by success and proven by their record. They'll do the work that has to be done, with my full support. We'll get back to what we have to do."
The Falcons currently sit joint-bottom of the NFC South and face divisional rivals the New Orleans Saints in their next match as they look to end a four-game losing streak.
Barney Corkhill
