Reports: Steelers to hire former Falcons coach Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator
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By planning to hire Arthur Smith, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting an offensive coordinator who excelled in that role for two seasons with the Tennessee Titans but didn’t enjoy the same kind of success in three seasons as a head coach in Atlanta.
The Steelers have agreed to hire Smith, who was fired three weeks ago by the Falcons, as their offensive coordinator. NFL Network and ESPN were first to report the impending hire.
The #Steelers are expected to hire former #Falcons coach Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, per sources.
Smith had a top run game as #Titans OC before heading to Atlanta three years ago. Now he’ll be coaching Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and company in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/8QH8okMNgG
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2024
Smith, 41, became a hot coaching commodity based on his body of work in the 2019-20 seasons with the Titans when he had workhorse running back Derrick Henry and veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill. That led to his head coaching job in Atlanta, where he was let go following his third consecutive losing season.
With the Falcons, he compiled a 21-30 record that consisted of three 7-10 finishes. The Falcons were in contention for the NFC South title in December but lost four of their final five games.
The Steelers interviewed Smith on Sunday and reportedly agreed to the hire Tuesday. Tomlin, team president Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan also interviewed former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson.
Tomlin and Khan are in Mobile, Ala., this week for the Senior Bowl, where they were expected to talk to more candidates. Smith’s interview apparently was good enough to convince the Steelers to cut short the process. Smith also reportedly was a candidate for other OC openings in the NFL.
Smith spent 2011-20 in Tennessee, working with four coaches with ties to the Steelers organization: Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey and Mike Vrabel.
Promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019, he guided a high-scoring offense led by Henry and Tannehill. Henry rushed for 1,547 and 2,027 yards, respectively, in those two seasons. Tannehill threw 55 touchdown passes and just 13 interceptions in that span and was the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2019.
In his first year as offensive coordinator, the Titans finished No. 10 in points and third in rushing, averaging 138.9 yards on the ground. The next season, the Titans had the No. 2 running game, averaging 168.1 yards. Tennessee also had the fourth-most points in the NFL.
That run-heavy background suits the Steelers’ philosophy. Last season, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren became the fourth set of teammates in franchise history to each record 1,000 scrimmage yards. Harris surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the third year in a row.
Smith also will be tasked with getting more out of third-year quarterback Kenny Pickett, who watched from the sideline late in the year as Mason Rudolph led the Steelers on a three-game winning streak. Rudolph, who will be a free agent in March, also was the quarterback in the postseason loss at Buffalo.
“We have an idea of what we want the Steelers offense to look like,” Rooney II said Monday. “We have a certain roster mix that you can’t completely change overnight, so you have to have a coordinator who can work with this roster and be successful with it. Somebody that believes in that, comes in and can work with this roster, do what is already built here, some of the skill sets that we have — I think that’s what we’re looking for.”
Smith replaces Matt Canada, who was relieved of his duties in November amid the Steelers’ offensive struggles. When Canada was fired, the Steelers had gone 58 consecutive games, including all 44 of his tenure, without topping 400 yards on offense. In two years with Smith as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator, the Titans did it 15 times in 32 games, including nine times in 2020.
The Falcons surpassed the 400-yard barrier six times in 2023. Although Smith didn’t carry the offensive coordinator title, his background suggests he heavily was involved in the offense — much like Tomlin is with the Steelers defense.
Smith, however, was criticized for the Falcons not getting more out of their collection of first-round draft picks. In Smith’s tenure in Atlanta, the Falcons used their three first-rounders on skill position players: tight end Kyle Pitts in 2021, wide receiver Drake London in 2022 and running back Bijan Robinson in 2023.
Pitts has struggled the past two seasons after surpassing 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie. London finished short of 1,000 yards in his first two seasons, and Robinson fell shy of 1,000 yards rushing after being the No. 8 overall pick last year.
Smith, son of billionaire FedEx founder Frederick Smith, got his coaching start as a quality control coach for the Washington Redskins in 2007. He had that role until being hired at Ole Miss as a defensive intern in 2010.
After Canada’s dismissal in November, the Steelers finished the season with running backs coach Eddie Faulkner as interim coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan as the play-caller on game days.
Tomlin said after the season neither of those assistant coaches were being considered for the coordinator position.