After surrendering 31 consecutive points in a Super Bowl 51 loss to New England, the Atlanta Falcons will be entering next season with two new coaches in key defensive staff positions.

Two sources told Sporting News that Richard Smith won’t be returning as coordinator and Bryan Cox will be replaced as defensive line coach.

A source told Sporting News that Smith could be shifting to another staff position but more details weren’t immediately known.

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Although the two moves may have been in the works win or lose last Sunday, they were made following the greatest collapse in Super Bowl history. New England rolled for 546 yards to overcome a 28-3 deficit midway through the third quarter en route to a 34-28 overtime win at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Atlanta’s defense had shown improvement over the final two months of the season prior to last Sunday’s matchup. The Falcons also matched their highest sack total (34) since the 2008 season but still finished ranked No. 25 overall in average yards allowed (371.2) and No. 27 in points (25.4).

Smith, 61, became Atlanta’s defensive coordinator upon Quinn’s 2015 arrival. His NFL coaching career began in 1988 with previous defensive coordinator stints in Miami (2005) and Houston (2006-08).

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Cox, 48, has coached Atlanta’s defensive line since 2014. Besides a decade of NFL coaching experience, Cox also was a three-time All-Pro during a 12-year playing career at linebacker.

The Falcons already made a major coaching move earlier in the day when hiring Steve Sarkisian away from the University of Alabama to replace outgoing offensive cordiantor Kyle Shanahan, who left to become San Francisco’s new head coach.

Other changes are set to follow with teams requesting interviews through the Falcons to hire staff members for their own vacancies. The Falcons are expected to grant some of them but veto others for those who remain under contract even if it means a potential promotion and/or raise, which is a common practice among almost all NFL teams seeking to retain talented assistants.

Alex Marvez can be heard from 7 to 11 p.m. ET Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.