Steelers' Arthur Smith Grateful He Isn't Mike Tomlin With Difficult Decisions Looming

The Pittsburgh Steelers have put forth despicable performances on the offensive side of the ball throughout their first two preseason games of 2024. Neither Justin Fields nor Russell Wilson have truly proven that they deserve to be the starting quarterback for the Steelers to start the 2024 regular season. Each quarterback has performed well in practice, but carrying that success onto an NFL field has been a challenge. The Steelers still have one preseason game left to play, but a tough decision is looming for Head Coach Mike Tomlin as the quarterback competition is coming down to the wire.

Pittsburgh's fan base is also divided on who should be the starting quarterback. Many fans want to see Wilson because of his experience, while others want Fields to start due to his athleticism and potential. Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith will have to offer his opinion on the competition, but understands that the final decision is not up to him. He spoke to the local media ahead of practice on Tuesday, and talked extensively about how grateful he is that he doesn't have the final say on the difficult decision.

"Again, the beauty of my position now, you just give your opinion. But that's not necessarily a decision I have the burden of making. Obviously, I think Mike [Tomlin] does a great job, Omar [Khan], Mr. Rooney - see, it's collaborative. But having been in that situation - that's not my decision to make. Sometimes it's a little freeing, at the same time your opinion is valued, but I don't have to carry the burden of that decision."

Smith referred to the decision of naming a starting quarterback as a "burden" on multiple occasions. This decision clearly carries a lot of weight for a coaching staff, and he is happy it doesn't come down to him. He is the offensive play-caller, so Tomlin will ask for and consider his opinion, but the final decision will be the head coach's. 

Smith has some head coaching experience of his own, as he led the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 through the 2023 season. His teams in Atlanta didn't see much success, as they went 7-10 every season. He had to deal with making a decision on the team's starting quarterback ahead of the 2022 season, when the Falcons had Marcus Mariota and a rookie in Desmond Ridder. Smith was also the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans when the decision was made to bench Mariota in lieu of Ryan Tannehill during the 2019 season.

The former head coach clearly seems happy to not have to make the decisions that he used to. He can get back to just calling plays and worrying about the offense, which is exactly what he was doing when he had his most successful seasons with the Titans in 2019 and 2020. Smith was scrutinized for his tenure as a head coach in Atlanta, but now he is doing what earned him his credibility at the NFL level.

Steelers' Arthur Smith May Join The List Of Elite Coordinators Who Couldn't Figure It Out As A Head Coach

Something that doesn't exist much in the NFL anymore are really good coordinators, who want to be just that - a coordinator. If a coordinator has one good season, that team needs to start worrying because other organizations are going to come calling trying to get him to be their new head coach. 

Smith already went through that cycle, and was fired after three seasons as a head coach. He still has dreams of being a successful head coach, which was a big reason for coming to Pittsburgh. He now gets to learn under Tomlin. Some of the best coordinators just don't have what it takes to be the head coach, which is what the case was for Steelers legend Dick LeBeau. He was one of the best defensive coordinators in the league throughout the 2000s and early-2010s, but all that success came after failing as a head coach.

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