Stars like Michael Turner, Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and John Abraham helped him carry the Falcons to their first playoff berth since 2004, although they lost fairly narrowly to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round of the 2008 NFL playoffs. He was named the 2008 AP Coach of the year and NFL Coach of the Year, beating out Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano in the voting. In his second season, Smith and the Falcons overcame a difficult schedule and several key injuries (to QB Ryan and RB Turner) to end up with a 9-7 finish and second place in the NFC South. While they failed to reach the playoffs, this marked the first time the team had ever had back-to-back winning seasons. In 2010, he led the Falcons to a NFC-best season record of 13-3, earning the team's second NFC South title and fourth divisional championship overall before being beaten at home by the eventual Super Bowl XLV champions, the Green Bay Packers, 48-21 in the NFC Divisional Round. The 2011 season ended with another winning record (10-6) and Smith's third playoff appearance (a first-round loss, by another eventual Super Bowl champion, the New York Giants). In 2012 Smith led the Falcons to a league best 13-3 record and recorded his first win in the postseason as Falcons head coach, edging the Seattle Seahawks 30-28 in the . With the win, Atlanta also made their 3rd all-time appearance in the NFC Championship Game, and hosted the game for the first time in their history against the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons were beaten 28-24 after taking the lead 10-0 in the 1st Quarter. Also in the 2012 season, Smith earned his 50th win by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles on October 28, passing Dan Reeves as the best-performing coach in Falcons history by number of wins. Smith reached 50 wins in 71 games, which is good for 3rd best all-time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, surpassed only by Chuck Knox who earned his 50th win in 65 games and by George Seifert in 62 games. Smith was named "Sporting News" 2012 Coach of the Year for the 3rd time by a pool of 27 NFL coaches and executives. In the 2013 season, the Falcons slumped to a 4-12 record, and Smith was eventually named the head coach of the North Team in the 2014 Senior Bowl. On December 28, 2014, multiple media outlets reported that the Falcons had hired Korn Ferry, a reputed firm, to assist in finding potential candidates to replace Smith should he be fired.