Missi Matthews Sits Down With Steelers’ new OC Arthur Smith
Missi Matthews had an opportunity to sit down with the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, to talk about his coaching history and how it will help him at his new home in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers officially announced, on Friday, that Arthur Smith will be the team’s offensive coordinator during the 2024 season. Obviously, we knew this before, but in lieu of the news becoming official, Missi Matthews wasted no time getting a sit-down with him.
Arguably, my favorite quote from this entire conversation, coincidentally, comes at the very beginning. When asked why coming to Pittsburgh made sense to him, Arthur Smith stole the heart of tons of Yinzers, saying: “It’s such a unique opportunity to be able to work for an organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers…” adding that the Steelers are a “perfect cultural fit.” Branching off of that answer, later on in the interview, while discussing what made his offense in Tennessee in 2019 and 2020 so successful, he argued that “...chemistry and fit matters…”
These answers are exactly what has frustrated me about yinzers being so upset about the Steelers hiring him, because he is absolutely right. Given the current state of our skill positions, and where they are in their development, our best bet at winning football starts in the trenches with the run game. From there, tons of play-action to get your star players the ball in their hands, with space. Forget about Smith’s record as a head coach for just a second and think about what his teams specialize in. The cultural and schematic fit is there.
Arthur Smith was also given an opportunity to discuss the quarterback position. He insists that taking care of the football, and “having command” of high-pressure situations, are the things he expects to see from his QBs. For all the negative shit that Steeler fans say about Kenny Pickett, yinz have to admit that those are Kenny’s two best traits.
Speaking of KP8, Smith was asked what needs to happen to start the process of helping Pickett take the next step in his development. Smith responded: “First thing’s first; There’s a relationship thats gotta be built between me and Kenny.”
It’s clear that, for the moment, the team views Kenny Pickett as QB1, and it sounds like Arthur Smith is going to waste no time forming a relationship with him.
I urge all Steeler fans to watch these interviews as they happen, including this one. You can read all the negativity from other Steeler fans on social media, and on blogs like this, or you can do your due diligence and form your own opinion. Arthur Smith is saying all the right things to win our hearts, and he has the track-record as an OC for us to be extremely optimistic. The way he talks about the organization is something to behold, and it’s clear he wants to be here.
I’m so excited about next season already, and we haven’t even gotten through the Super Bowl yet. Give me a brick wall; Arthur Smith has me ready to run through one.
Here. We. Go.
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