Steelers' Announcement Of Arthur Smith Hiring Subjected To Ruthless Take: "I Thought It Was A Joke"

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Arthur Smith, the recently fired Atlanta Falcons head coach, as their new offensive coordinator. Pittsburgh and, more specifically, Mike Tomlin committed to making real changes on offense in his final press conference to wrap up the 2023 season. So far, the Steelers have reportedly committed to bringing back Teryl Austin and Pat Meyer, and hired Smith after interviewing Jerrod Johnson and Thomas Brown.

The big issue with Johnson and Brown is that neither possessed play-calling or offensive coordinator experience (two things that Tomlin told reporters were the criteria he was searching for in a new coach to run the offense). Zac Robinson, who refused an interview with the Steelers to take the Falcons coordinator position under Raheem Morris, also did not meet the criteria Tomlin laid out. Smith was the only candidate with coordinator and play-calling experience, so they hired him. It was an exhaustive search for one "qualified" candidate who was immediately given the job.

On Wednesday, Danny Carter and Patrick Daugherty released the latest episode of the Rotoworld Football Show. The award-winning program featured on NBC Sports did not exactly come across as big fans of the Steelers' choice to lead their offense in 2024. Carter and Daugherty’s enthusiasm for the Smith hire was, in the kindest terms, underwhelming.

“I’ve never seen a less serious hire. I’m actually at a loss for words,” Daugherty said. “How can this be presented to Steelers fans? Look, we know you are upset about Matt Canada, we got the solution here, little guy name Art Smith. We found the only person uniformly worse than Matt Canada.”

It is a harsh observation, and to be fair, Smith is not worse than Matt Canada, right? Based on his tenure in Atlanta, it is easy to forget that he has had success at the NFL level with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry running his offense in 2019 and 2020 with the Tennessee Titans. They were ahead 17-7 against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game before completely collapsing in on themselves and losing 35-24. 

"I thought it was a joke. I thought they were messing around," Carter added. "They are going to bring in Arthur Smith; this isn't going anywhere. It's real. If we are going to analyze it, we're going to have to say the line. It's Najee [Harris] season. But is it? I will say I'm no Arthur Smith apologist; no one is. We are one year removed; in 2022, the Falcons were third in rush EPA and fifth in rushing success rate. They have been good. Last year was catastrophic. Their rushing efficiency fell off a cliff with Bijan Robinson."

Steelers' New Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith Has Pat McAfee Fired Up

Pittsburgh fans are historically big fans of a bruising running game. Pat McAfee praised the hire of Smith for this very reason during The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday afternoon. However, in 2024, it is a dubious conclusion that the offense that produced one AFC Championship game appearance with the best running back of the 21st century will get the Steelers back to the Super Bowl. It might end the seven-year playoff win drought, but this style of offense has already proven to have a ceiling. 

Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are a highly effective tandem, but Smith did not strike a good balance in Atlanta with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. Allgeier regressed from his 2022 numbers, and Robinson did not meet the fantasy football crowd's expectations. Both running backs had ample opportunity, but substandard quarterback play by Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke doomed them to a third straight 7-10 finish, costing Smith his job. 

"Should be good for Harris, should be good for Warren," Carter concluded. "I will say George Pickens will leave the NFL before Week 8. What trust do we have that Arthur Smith will develop Kenny Pickett into a viable NFL quarterback? No chance."

It is unknown if the one interview Tomlin and the Steelers conducted with a candidate who met the prerequisite criteria ended shortly after an "I can fix Kenny Pickett" affirmation. It sure looks like it from the outside looking in. Smith is still owed a substantial amount of money from the Falcons, and in case you have not heard this in the last 48 hours, his family is fabulously wealthy because of their connection to Federal Express. 

Pickett appeared hopelessly broken under Canada, but did show flashes with Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan in the one-and-a-half games he played before getting hurt against the Arizona Cardinals. Mitch Trubisky will probably become a cap casualty sooner rather than later, and Mason Rudolph is a free agent. 

The Steelers should consider all available options to fix the quarterback position, but Tomlin has already expressed that he believes the 2024 quarterback is on the roster. The question is, did Tomlin hire the first candidate who agreed with him on Pickett? It would not be the first time Tomlin hired a yes-man. But if that is the case, it should be the last. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Like it or not, Smith is our guy. Are you prepared to go to the mat in the endless social media arguments that will take place this offseason? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq. 

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