After Arthur Smith lost his job as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he promised his wife a trip out of the country to get away before their next big life decision on where they would land next in the world of professional football. Their destination was Dubai, but it didn’t take long for other NFL teams to start contacting Smith about openings on their coaching staffs.
Smith was sitting in his hotel room in Dubai, getting ready to depart for the Maldives when Mike Tomlin called about his opening at offensive coordinator. Smith finished his family vacation — “I didn’t want to get divorced” — but the day after he returned stateside, he was in Pittsburgh for an interview. Not long after that, he was hired to supervise the rebuilding of a Steelers offense that has been among the worst in the league over the past three seasons.
“I knew I wanted to work,” Smith said in his first extensive interview since he was hired. “I didn’t want to stay out. When Mike called me, I was literally halfway around the world. Hell yeah, I was interested.”
Smith proceeded to rattle off the names of nine former Steelers players or coaches with whom he worked in his previous coaching stops. Many of them — from Mike Vrabel to Dick LeBeau and Mike Mularkey, among others — were mentors to a young Smith as he was coming up through the ranks as an assistant coach with the Tennessee Titans.
“There are so many guys who swear by this place,” Smith said. “It’s funny how things work out. When things don’t go your way, another door opens. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
Because Smith was mentored by so many people who worked for the Steelers, there has been an easy transition to his new job because there are so many shared philosophies. Smith earned the head coaching job in Atlanta after overseeing Tennessee’s offense for two seasons under Vrabel.
The Titans were known for their physical style of play and for having the ability to dictate games through a strong and consistent running game with Derrick Henry as the feature back. The Steelers want to get back to that style of play under general manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl.
“The game doesn’t change,” Smith said. “It’s both sides of the line of scrimmage. You might have the greatest designer play against this coverage, but if you can’t block guys up front, it’s going to be hard living.
“If you look at the history here, there is great history on both sides of the line of scrimmage. They’ve won Super Bowls on both sides. It’s something I believe in. It’s something I was raised in.”
Smith has a big job ahead of him. The Steelers have ranked 21st, 26th and 28th in the league in scoring during Matt Canada’s three seasons as offensive coordinator. Getting rid of Canada wasn’t the only change over the offseason. All three quarterbacks from last season are gone and replaced by Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen.
On his quarterbacks, Smith toed the company line and repeated what Tomlin said when Wilson and Fields were acquired. “Russ is in pole position,” Smith said. “It’s a competition. When we get to Latrobe, I’m sure things will heat up.”
The biggest question about Smith’s offense personnel-wise is his receivers group after Diontae Johnson was traded to the Panthers. Smith acknowledged there have been discussions about acquiring a player, but he’s leaving that up to the front office.
“Things happen during the season,” Smith said. “I’m thankful right now I get to coach these players. Now, I just dive in.
“You have conversations, but it’s not my responsibility. Things happen. Guys get injured. You have to have contingency plans. That’s my job. The ball is going to kick off every Sunday. You better have depth. You deal with any circumstance thrown your way. I don’t get caught up in labeling guys, especially this time of the year. Those things will work itself out in Latrobe and those things can always change, too.”
Smith had Henry to lean on when he coached with the Titans, but Smith indicated the running back rotation of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will continue. Harris, who has rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons in the league, is entering the final year of his rookie contract after the Steelers declined his fifth-year option.
The Post-Gazette reported in May the Steelers wanted to see how Harris operated in Smith’s offense before they committed to working out another contract with him.
“You have your beliefs, but you’re not rigid,” Smith said. “You try to play to their strengths and enhance things. Both Najee and Jaylen have had a lot of success in this league. You hope to have 1,100 plays in a season. Even Derrick Henry didn’t ask to carry the ball 550 times, so there are plenty of carries to go around whether that’s traditionally or nontraditionally. Cordarrelle Patterson has played in multiple spots. We’ll see how it shakes out, but we have good depth in that room.”
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and @rayfitt1 on X
First Published: June 11, 2024, 7:02 p.m.
Updated: June 12, 2024, 3:21 p.m.
