Getty Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith.
As the Pittsburgh Steelers search for their next offensive coordinator, they seem to have cast a wide net.
The expected favorites for the job are more experienced names like Darrell Bevell, but the team has inquired about meeting with Rams QB coach Zac Robinson and is expected to meet with Kliff Kingsbury.
It seems they may also be interested in one name that fantasy football fans won’t be too thrilled about.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini on Tuesday, January 23, there are more than seven teams that have shown serious interest in former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith for their offensive coordinator jobs.
93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi pointed out on X that with only eight offensive coordinator positions open, that likely means the Steelers are one of those teams.
Smith’s failure to utilize young, highly drafted talent with the Falcons from 2021 to 2023 could cause concern for fans of any team considering his services.
A Lot of Wasted Weapons in Atlanta Under Arthur Smith
There might not be a single coach across the league that fantasy football players have been more upset with over the last three seasons than Smith.
Hopes were high for Smith after he helped turn veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill into a Pro Bowler with the Titans.
The Falcons’ offense was bad in his three seasons with the team despite the front office repeatedly trying to get him pieces to improve on that side of the ball.
When he took over as head coach, the team already had Matt Ryan and star receiver Calvin Ridley.
Then they added Kyle Pitts with the No. 4 overall pick in Smith’s first draft.
Ridley only ended up playing five games that year, but Pitts turned in a 1,000-yard season as a rookie. Atlanta, though, couldn’t figure out how to use him in the red zone and he ended up with 1 touchdown as a rookie.
The team ended the season ranked 26th in scoring.
The following year in 2022, the Falcons lost Ridley to a suspension, but they added another talented receiver to replace him, making Drake London the first receiver off the board (No. 8 overall pick) in the 2022 draft.
In their first year together, the Falcons’ two young stars combined for just 100 catches and 1,222 yards.
The biggest positive on the team was the running game. Tyler Allgeier put together a 1000-yard season at running back as a rookie. Cordarelle Patterson chipped in 695 yards of his own and the Falcons began to resemble Smith’s Titans teams.
The offense was better, finishing 15th in scoring in 2022.
In 2023, the franchise made the obvious move for a coach who once had Derrick Henry run for 2,000 yards in a season and was beginning to make the run game a big part of his team’s identity.
They used a premium pick on an offensive skill position player in their third consecutive draft when they selected Bijan Robinson No. 8 overall to give Smith a true bellcow back.
Robinson got 214 carries as a rookie in 2023. That was 4 more than Allgeier, who was drafted in the fifth round, got in the previous season.
Robinson averaged just 57.4 rushing yards per game.
In a 2-point loss to the lowly Panthers in Week 15, Robinson only got 7 carries.
London got 7 fewer targets in his second season and had 4games with 2 catches or less, and Pitts averaged just over 5 targets per game.
The Falcons fell back to 26th in scoring and upset fantasy football players everywhere with their perceived misuse of some of the league’s brightest prospects.
London hasn’t finished a season as a top-30 wide receiver yet. Pitts has one year as a top-12 tight end.
How Arthur Smith Might Fit With the Steelers
Now that we’ve gotten the negatives of Smith’s time with the Titans out of the way, let’s talk about how he might fit with the Steelers.
Hiring Smith probably wouldn’t be great for George Pickens‘ counting stats and it might not fix Kenny Pickett, but he could help the offense find an identity.
When you can’t depend on your quarterback, what is the best way to try and get points? Run the ball as much as possible.
Smith did this in Tennessee and it worked for the Titans.
Najee Harris isn’t Derrick Henry, but that might not matter.
The Steelers have one of the league’s best defensive players in T.J. Watt, plus some solid pieces around him. They could make further developing the defense a priority in the draft and free agency.
Right now, Pickett is considered by many to be the worst starting QB in the AFC North among Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson. If he remains the team’s starter in 2024, they may need to find another way to win.
That may be consistent running and a stout defense. Smith is a coordinator who would lean into that.
Smith really only fits with the Steelers if they’re planning to take their team in one very specific, ground-heavy direction, but that still might be more of a fit than some other candidates.