Steelers' Arthur Smith Might Be Overlooked As A Head Coach, But He's A More Than Capable OC: "He'll Understand How To Attack"

New Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Arthur Smith has already been receiving high praise from his team. Mark Kaboly said Monday that players absolutely love Smith's "unreal" offense. This is great news for Steelers fans after watching abysmal offensive production week in and week out the past few seasons under former Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada. The Steelers' offense improved after Canada was fired, but they still weren't playing at a championship level that fans expect from the team. Receiving praise from the players is certainly a good sign, but what former NFL GM Michael Lombardi had to say about Smith on the Draft Kings GM Shuffle was very exciting and reassuring. 

Lombardi was asked by the host of the show, Femi Abebefe, why coaches go overlooked and what is it about coaching that has such an impact in being able to tip the scale in a team. Lombardi answered by mentioning that he thinks a lot of it is the strategy that goes into the game, and how the coach approaches it. Lombardi then went straight into talking about Smith.

"It's a tactical warfare thing, it's the tactics, right. You set the strategy and then the tactics come into play, like let's take for example Arthur Smith at Pittsburgh... He's going to run the outside zone, inside zone, going to run a lot of play-action, over routes."

The Steelers offense is built to do exactly that, and do it well. If Smith can scheme the way he did when he was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans back in 2019-2020, Pittsburgh should be able to enjoy a lot of success. Russell Wilson has been a very good play-action quarterback over his career, the offensive line has been beefed up, and the Najee Harris / Jaylen Warren 1-2 punch in the backfield is as reliable as ever. 

The Steelers also have quality blocking tight ends in Darnell Washington and MyCole Pruitt, along with some familiar faces that Smith coached in Atlanta. Even if Wilson is a shell of his former self at quarterback, Smith has the ability to make him play up to a higher level with his scheme and get the chains moving. 

"[Smith] got a lot out of Ryan Tannehill when Ryan Tannehill wasn't a great player. He leaves Tannehill, Tannehill wasn't the same player," Abebefe continued.

Ryan Tannehill made his first and only Pro Bowl and won the AP Comeback Player of the Year in his first season under Smith. After that season, Tannehill signed a four-year, $118 million dollar contract to stay in Tennessee. He did not live up to that contract however, largely in part to Smith taking the Atlanta Falcons head coaching job.

"[Smith will] be able to attack the weaknesses within the opponent's defense, and he'll understand how to attack them. It won't just be we're running plays, we'll be attacking them... Forget what he was as a head coach, he's a really good offensive coordinator."

Smith struggled as the head coach of the Falcons, but in his last offensive coordinator job, he took the Titans to the AFC Championship. This was in a quarterback driven league, without one of the league's best quarterbacks. The Steelers' current roster is very similar to what he was working with in Tennessee -- a veteran quarterback on a team that's built to run the football. 

Smith will be able to run his scheme the way it's intended to be run and that's something to be excited about. Some great offensive coordinators don't end up being great head coaches. Smith's recent head coaching struggles don't necessarily indicate that he's no longer capable of putting together a good offensive scheme that picks up first downs and scores points. Running a team and running an offense are different in many ways. Smith is a great offensive mind and he'll have a perfect opportunity to prove that in Pittsburgh. 

Do you think Lombardi is right and Smith will be a good fit for Pittsburgh? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

#SteelerNation