Steelers Interviewing Arthur Smith For OC Position
According to NFL Insider Tom Pelissero, the Pittsburgh Steelers are interviewing former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith for their open offensive coordinator position.
Steeler fans expressed some serious reservations on social media about Arthur Smith as a potential candidate, to put it kindly. Considering Arthur Smith’s stint as head coach of the Falcons, it’s easy for one’s knee-jerk response to this news to be negative. However, I don’t think this is a bad option after doing some research of my own.
Smith’s coaching career (at the NFL level) began in 2007 as the Defensive Assistant Coach and Quality Control Coach of the Washington Commanders, formerly known as the Redskins. He was hired by the Tennessee Titans in 2011. He stayed with the Titans’ organization, holding various titles, before being named their offensive coordinator in 2019. That year, the Titans would go 9-7, sneaking into the playoffs, and making it to the AFC Championship Game, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2020, the Titans were the second best rushing attack in football, netting 2,690 rushing yards, including more than 2,000 yards for Derrick Henry alone. They were also second in the league with 26 rushing touchdowns. It was one of the most efficient years of QB Ryan Tannehill’s career, completing almost 66% of his passes, including 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. The Titans would finish 11-5 that year.
Arthur Smith would, then, get hired as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where he went 7-10 each year. This is where the criticism comes in. Three straight seasons as head coach, with no progression from your team. Additionally, he’s been criticized for criminally underutilizing his star players (I’m being dramatic, of course). Still, being head coach and offensive coordinator are totally different jobs. As far as I know, he was calling the offensive plays his first year in Atlanta, but the added responsibility of being the head coach may have been too much for him to handle.
Arthur Smith’s two years at OC for the Titans showed us that under his system, your team is going to be run-heavy and utilize a lot of play-action to free up your receivers. He did it effectively for Tennessee, and Kenny Pickett is more talented at quarterback than Ryan Tannehill was, in my opinion. Of course, that’s assuming that Kenny Pickett is QB1 going forward.
So, I can see the appeal, but I can also see why folks hate the idea of Smith being our OC. It’ll be interesting to see what Khan, Tomlin, and the Rooneys decide to do with this one.
Side note: As I’m writing this, I’m watching the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, and I’m noticing something. The Ravens’ defense was dominant all season long, but they’re getting marched on every time Kansas City touches the ball. This is the nature of the NFL today. Defense is still important, and the Steelers have a great defense, when healthy, in my opinion. However, offense rules in the NFL, right now. We HAVE to hit on whichever offensive coordinator we decide to hire. I’m excited about seeing who we choose.
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