Steelers Expected to Hire Arthur Smith For OC Position
According to NFL Insider, Tom Pelissero, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to hire Arthur Smith, former head coach of the Falcons, for their offensive coordinator position.
Honestly, once the Falcons nabbed Zac Robinson, I fully expected the Steelers to pull the trigger on this one. There’s definitely some animosity from Yinzers on social media about it, though. Mike Tomlin seemed pretty headstrong about a significant change in the way the Steelers operate on the offensive side of the ball, and I’ll give yinz this: Arthur Smith is going to be more of the same. It’ll be an extremely run-heavy offense with a lot of play-action, and short passes, hopefully in an effort to get your playmakers in space. Still, Smith is a significant upgrade from Matt Canada.
In 2023, the Falcons ranked 22nd in the NFL in total passing yards with 3,775. This figure is higher than the Steelers, who netted 3,421 yards passing this season. Additionally, the Falcons ranked 9th in the league in total rushing yards at 2,159, which, again, is more than the Steelers. The Falcons were tied with the Steelers and Cowboys at 4.1 yards per carry during this span, but as I said before, Arthur Smith runs an extremely run-heavy offense.
So, this is good news for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, who have cemented themselves as one of, if not THE best running back duo in the league. The question now becomes: what are we going to get from the QB position? Of course, any answers yinz come up with are going to be speculation, so I’ll speculate too. Ryan Tannehill was at the top of his game in the Arthur Smith offense. He led the Titans to back-to-back playoff appearances, including an AFC Championship appearance. To play devil’s advocate, Desmond Ridder hasn’t looked great for the Falcons, when he has played, over the last two seasons. But, head coach and offensive coordinator are two different worlds. In my opinion, Kenny Pickett (assuming he’s the guy going forward) could benefit greatly from a strong running game, and play-action rhythm passing.
I know it sounds like Matt Canada all over again, but Matt Canada was using stagnant, predictable plays that worked for him as an OC for college teams. Arthur Smith has had NFL success, so let’s not shit on the guy before he’s had a chance to call a single play. With that being said, coming in and having immediate success is really hard and likely won’t happen. So, when we’re three games in and the offense isn’t blowing people out, let’s not jump ship and set Pittsburgh on fire over it. Give it time. I have faith we’re going to look back on this day positively in the future.
Once the ink is dry, I hope Steeler fans are able to come together and rally around this guy. Also, if hiring him is any indication of what our offense will look like in 2024, I fully expect us to draft some guys for our offensive line, which improved this last season, despite some shitty snaps from a certain center who should not be employed by the time OTAs begin. Breath, Steeler fans. Every little thing is gonna be alright.
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