By Will Brinson

Atlanta snuck by Carolina 31-23 on Sunday, but Mike Smith had a much scarier experience than anything relating to football, as the Falcons were concerned their coach might have had a heart attack following the game.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter, Smith was "rushed to the hospital with chest pains" while the rest of the team boarded their charter plane back to Atlanta.

"Following the Falcons verses Carolina game today head coach Mike Smith was transported to the hospital in Charlotte for a non-emergency matter," the Falcons told the AJC. "Coach Smith is resting comfortably. His tests have reaffirmed his health and he’s expected to be in Atlanta on Monday."

The wording from the Falcons is certainly good -- "non-emergency," "reaffirmed his health," and "resting comfortably" are all phrases you want associated with someone who went to the hospital with chest pains.

Smith is just 52, but the life of an NFL coach is obviously a stressful one, so it's certainly better to be safe than sorry in this sort of instance, and it's good to hear that, at least according to the team, he's not dealing with a major medical issue at the moment.


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