Kyle Smith’s departure from the Washington Football Team is official. Smith has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons to become their vice president of player personnel, the same position he held with Washington. The Falcons made the announcement Friday.
Smith will oversee Atlanta’s pro and college personnel and report to newly hired Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot. He’ll be the team’s second-highest personnel executive.
Smith spent 11 seasons with Washington, including three as the director of college personnel. He was promoted last year to VP of player personnel following the hire of head coach Ron Rivera. Smith also ran the last three NFL drafts for Washington.
However, the recent hiring of Martin Mayhew as general manager and Marty Hurney as executive vice president of football/player personnel indicated Smith’s tenure with Washington was over.
Smith became popular among media and fans in Washington for his efforts in building a solid young core. In the last three years, Washington has drafted promising talents such Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne, and this season’s rookie studs Chase Young, Antonio Gibson and Kamren Curl.
Yet, Washington is a coach-centric organization. Rivera has been in charge of the organization since his arrival last year. He sought for more experience at the GM role and VP of player personnel roles. He found it with Mayhew and Hurney, who both will report to Rivera.
Meanwhile, Kyle Smith gets an opportunity to put his imprint on another organization and strengthen his glowing resume.
