Smith on Calling Plays for Henry: 'It Was Fun'

The former Titans offensive coordinator makes no promises about recreating that degree of rushing success with the Atlanta Falcons.

Arthur Smith knows there will be at least one significant difference between his new job as the Atlanta Falcons head coach and his old one as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator beyond just the responsibility that comes with being the man in charge.

He won’t have a difference-maker at running back the way he did with Derrick Henry.

Smith appeared on the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday and – among other things – talked about the luxury of calling plays that put the ball in the hands of Henry.

“Sometimes, it’s pretty easy when you’ve got a guy that can take it 99 yards, 94 yards – which we’ve seen him do – when you’re backed up,” Smith said. “I’d like to sit here and say, ‘Hey, that was a great play call,’ but it’s like watching a great home run hitter.

“Certainly, it was fun. Just watching him in certain games, I’ll always think back with great memories.”

Smith was the Titans offensive coordinator for two seasons, and in both Henry was the NFL’s rushing leader, which made him the first to repeat in that regard since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006-07. He ran for 1,450 yards in 2019 and a franchise-record 2,027 – the fifth-highest total in NFL history – in 2020.

Of the seven 200-yard rushing performances over those seasons, Henry had four of them and was the only player with more than one.

Tennessee finished second in the league in rushing offense in 2020 and third in 2019.

“There’s so many times during the year when he changed the game,” Smith said. “It’s just different when you’ve got a guy, you call a run and he takes off and goes 75-plus [yards]. That certainly changed the Kansas City regular season game in ’19 [a 35-32 Titans victory], and there’s so many plays you can think about.

“It’s exciting when you know every time you can hand the ball off it could be a home run.”

Smith also referenced the 2019 playoff run, when Henry amassed 182 yards on 34 carries in a victory over New England and 195 yards on 30 carries in a triumph at Baltimore. In both cases, he accounted for well over half of the team’s total offense.

“In the New England game, in the playoffs, it was like watching a boxer take over,” Smith said. “It was just over and over. And really, it was the guys up front, they were rolling off the ball and Derrick – fun to watch. Then there was the playoff game against Baltimore.”

Smith’s new team, the Falcons, have finished 27th or worse in rushing offense each of the last three years and have not had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2016.

The first-time head coach who will call the plays has no illusions about his ability to immediately get Atlanta off and running.

“Taking this job, it’s not like we’re bringing Derrick Henry with us over here,” Smith said. “So, you’ve got to adapt to who you’ve got. Whether you’ve got more guys out there at receiver, tight end, running back, you’ve got to be flexible. … We’re going to adapt to the strength of the players.”