The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator during the 2024 offseason, in a move that was met with a lot of criticism from fans. Some thought of Smith for his three full years of mediocrity as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, rather than his successful time as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. In Pittsburgh, Smith will be taking a step back and returning to his role as OC, while preparing for his next opportunity to be a head coach.
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Steelers' new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith has head coach aspirations.
Steelers' Arthur Smith Will Have More Head Coaching Opportunities According To His Former Player
Smith led a top five offense during his time with the Titans in 2019 and 2020. This earned him a few head coaching job interviews. He ultimately wound up signing with the Falcons in 2021 and his time there was rather disappointing (his teams went 7-10 in each of his three seasons). It's almost impressive to be that consistent.
The Falcons organization had seen enough of Smith and let go of him quickly after the end of the 2023 regular season. His now former player, Jonnu Smith, spoke highly of him and believes he will have another shot as a head coach according to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"What's making this thing a lot easier is he'll be just fine, knowing his resilience and the kind of man he is, he'll bounce back. He'll be back where he should be in no time. He's just a heck of a person, man. I don't know how many interviews I did about Art, but truly, I can't do enough."
The way Jonnu is speaking about his former coach is very similar to the way multiple Steelers players defended Mike Tomlin when they went through their three-game losing streak towards the end of the season in December. It seems Smith makes a similar impact on his players, which means he should fit in seamlessly with the Steelers coaching staff. Jonnu only played under Smith for one season in Atlanta, but he was with him for four seasons in Tennessee, prior to leaving in free agency.
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Steelers' Arthur Smith.
Jonnu stated that Arthur Smith will end up back where he should be, which is back in a head coaching position. Smith has always wanted to be a head coach in the NFL, and according to Ian Rapoport, he still has those aspirations, despite not performing well in Atlanta. A big reason Smith chose to come to Pittsburgh was to work with Tomlin, who has been one of the best coaches in the NFL since he was hired nearly 18 years ago. Smith now has the opportunity to learn from one of the best, which could make him a promising head coaching candidate again in the near future.
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Steelers' new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith with the Tennessee Titans.
Smith will certainly get another chance as a head coach in the NFL if he is able to bring a similar amount of success to the Steelers' offense as he did to the Titans. Hopefully, Pittsburgh will be able to get two or three years out of him before that happens. Many coaches in NFL history have been amazing coordinators, but less than stellar head coaches. Unfortunately for Smith, there have not been many head coaches who were fired, coordinated, then got rehired elsewhere and had success.
The three most notable head coaches who were fired and then rehired as a head coach elsewhere that actually had success are Bill Belichick, Gary Kubiak, and Pete Carroll. All three won at least one Super Bowl on their second or third head coaching opportunity.
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Over the years, New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick has had Mike Tomlin and the Steelers' number in their AFC matchups.
Kubiak spent eight seasons as the head coach of the Houston Texans and had a career record below .500. He then coached the Denver Broncos from 2015-2016 and went 21-11, winning the Super Bowl during the 2015 season. Carroll coached in the '90s for the New York Jets and the Patriots. He was fired after one season in New York after finishing 6-10. He saw some success in New England, but was fired when the Patriots traded for Belichick. He then went on to lead the Seattle Seahawks for 12 seasons, appearing in two Super Bowls and winning one.
According to history, there is a slim chance Smith will be able to find success as a head coach in the NFL again. Those three prior examples are notable references of coaches on their second life over the last 30 years.
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