FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- It’s jarring at first, the unexpectedness when you see the face of Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith. Now in his third season, he’s gone through a variation of facial hair. There’s been the clean-shaven period, the bearded look.
And now, there’s how Smith started training camp this week: With a mustache.
“It’s a lifestyle change,” Smith said. “It’s not for everybody.”
It’s also been in the works for about a month for both Smith and his defensive coordinator, Ryan Nielsen. The mustachioed duo began their growth in June, when Smith and Nielsen went to Europe as part of a USO Tour, along with players Feleipe Franks, Younghoe Koo and Lorenzo Carter and Steve Cannon, a West Point graduate and Airborne Ranger who is the vice chairman of Arthur M.