First Call: Arthur Smith connected to UNC head coaching job; Ben Roethlisberger has thoughts on George Pickens, Justin Fields

Multiple outlets are tying Arthur Smith’s name to the head coaching job at North Carolina. Ben Roethlisberger shares opinions on George Pickens and Justin Fields after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to Cleveland.

Plus, we preview the Penguins’ next opponent.

All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.”

Is there a check big enough?

Apparently, Zach Azzanni isn’t the only Steelers assistant coach linked to a college head coaching job. So is offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

On3Sports. com’s Andy Staples has Smith on his “Hot Board” for the North Carolina opening. The Tar Heels fired Mack Brown on Tuesday. ESPN’s Pete Thamel advanced Smith’s name yesterday as well.

How did we get here with UNC and Mack Brown? Who are names to watch in the search? We broke it all down with @Arlenv1 earlier today on College Football Live. pic.twitter.com/xQgqpiOcE6

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 26, 2024

Smith is a UNC graduate, as Azzanni is at Central Michigan. The Athletic tied his name to the Chippewas’ coaching search earlier this week.

It was a few years ago when Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that there “is not a booster with a big enough blank check” to get him to consider coaching at the college level when his name was connected to openings at USC and LSU.

I guess now we’ll see how big the checks are at UNC and CMU for Smith and Azzanni if the interview process gets far enough down the line with their names in the mix.

Big Ben goes ‘bonkers’

During his latest “Footbahlin’” podcast, Ben Roethlisberger described himself as going “bonkers” when he saw wide receiver George Pickens scuffling with Cleveland’s Greg Newsome as the game’s final play was transpiring.

George Pickens fighting Greg Newsome during the Hail Mary LMFAO pic.twitter.com/1QT1sN1w5o

— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) November 22, 2024

“George is fighting with a guy before the ball is even in the air,” Roethlisberger said of the final Hail Mary before the loss in Cleveland was official Thursday night. “And I’m, like, ‘is he trying to draw a penalty? I’m confused by that. I don’t know what he’s doing.’ I’m not saying that he’s giving up on the play, but if you’re not making a play on the ball, what are you doing? That kind of made me bonkers. We didn’t have anybody down there to make a play. If you want one guy to be down there, it’s him or (Darnell) Mount Washington.” 

During his Tuesday press conference, Mike Tomlin refused to criticize Pickens for his interaction with Newsome.

“I think their actions had something to do with (Pickens) not being in position to (make a play on the ball),” Tomlin said.

Tomlin also chose not to comment on Pickens insisting the Browns weren’t that good of a team after the loss and, blaming the weather and the officials for the outcome.

“I am not going to add color to (any of his players’) comments,” Tomlin said.

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Finding a job for Fields

Roethlisberger also advocated the idea of utilizing Justin Fields as a wide receiver.

“Line him up at receiver a couple of times,” Roethlisberger said. “Put him at different spots. What that does — even if you don’t do anything with it — anytime that you can force an opponent to spend five minutes on something that they might never see, it takes them away from preparing for what they will see.”

Even if the Steelers don’t do that, Roethlisberger sees the upside of using Fields — but just on occasion.

“I like the Fields’ package,” Roethlisberger said. “It can’t be every third-and-short or every fourth-and-short. It has to be used kind of sparingly and at the right time.”

Like maybe not throwing deep on third down with the game on the line. Just my two cents.

Holiday cheer

There has been very little to cheer about when it comes to the Penguins this year. They are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division at 7-12-4 (18 points) after 23 games.

However, the annual Wednesday before Thanksgiving home game always has a party atmosphere regardless of circumstances. Now we’ll see if Vancouver is coming to crash the party.

The Canucks are 11-6-3 (25 points) over their first 20 games. That’s good for third place in the Pacific Division. Vancouver has been the NHL’s best road team so far this year, winning eight times in nine tries, whereas they are just 3-5-3 at home.

Defenseman Quinn Hughes leads the way with 20 points. Former Pittsburgh Hornet J.T. Miller has 16 points but currently is not with the team because of a personal leave of absence.

Brock Boeser, a 40-goal scorer last season, is back after dealing with a concussion. He’s on a line with ex-Penguins Danton Heinen and Teddy Blueger.

Goalie Thatcher Demko is expected back from a knee injury soon. Meanwhile, goaltender Kevin Lankinen just pitched a 2-0 shutout in Boston on Tuesday.