Nice move this morning by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. He and coach Mike Smith agreed to a three-year contract extension.

Locking up Smith for the long term was a no-brainer. The coach has been with the Falcons for three years and produced three winning records. He has one year remaining on an original contract that averaged $2.2 million a season.

But what’s impressive about this move is that it came now. At a time when other owners are hesitant to do much of anything, Blank is being progressive and thinking ahead. That’s smart because the labor uncertainty that’s making everyone else tentative could grow into full chaos if there’s a lockout in March.

Things could be tied up for months and, if an agreement doesn’t get done until close to the start of the regular season, teams are going to be incredibly busy signing players. If Blank had waited for labor peace and put Smith’s contract on the backburner, he could have risked a situation where his coach would have been going into the last season of his contract. This wouldn’t have really been a lame-duck situation like John Fox in Carolina last year because Blank and Smith are on good terms.

But it could have created a combustible situation if the season started hastily and Smith, who acts as his own agent, had to negotiate a deal and coach during the season. Blank also is expected to try to work a similar extension with general manager Thomas Dimitroff before long.

This is probably going to be an unusual and difficult offseason for Blank and the other owners. But Blank did the smart thing by looking beyond the labor situation. When there is labor peace, Blank won’t have to worry about quickly trying to keep his coach and general manager.