Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Gave His Thoughts On If He Would Want To Play For Arthur Smith

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin broke a trend during the 2024 offseason, and that was looking outside of the building for the team's next offensive coordinator. Tomlin decided to hire Arthur Smith, and that decision has paid off as the Steelers' offense has been firing on all cylinders, especially ever since Russell Wilson stepped in as the starting quarterback. Pittsburgh's offense has been criticized at times due to a few slow starts, but overall, Smith has provided fans with a major improvement as a play-caller over what has been seen in Pittsburgh in recent years.

Hiring Smith was a breath of fresh air for Steelers fans. The two offensive coordinators before him for the Steelers, Matt Canada and Randy Fichtner, were both promoted from different coaching jobs on the Steelers' staff. Neither Fichtner or Canada had much success as an OC in Pittsburgh, while Smith is operating one of the better offenses in the league. 

On the most recent episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger, actor Joe Manganiello was a guest on the show to talk about the Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger. He asked the former quarterback whether or not he would have liked to play in Smith's offense.

"What he's doing with the run game, I love some of the play action stuff he is doing, taking the shots," Roethlisberger said. "Like I said, I don't know him, but I would have loved to play for him just because it seems like he loves to use the tight end. The Heath Millers, Vance McDonald, I got one year with Pat [Freiermuth]."

Roethlisberger always loved to throw the ball to his tight end, which is a big reason the quarterback cited for his desire to play under Smith. Roethlisberger did critique the offense some. He spoke about how he would love to see more crossing routes and how he wants the middle of the field to be utilized more, but overall, he loves what he has seen from Smith.

Roethlisberger played under some great coordinators throughout his career, including Ken Whisenhunt and Bruce Arians as the quarterback won a Super Bowl with each of them calling the plays. Later in Roethlisberger's career, the offense became a bit predictable, especially under Canada. Having a play-caller like Smith would have helped the quarterback since they seem to have similar offensive ideologies. Both of them like to get the tight end involved while leaning on a strong run game.

Smith has been criticized at certain points of the 2024 season, but overall, he has done a spectacular job. The biggest criticism has stemmed from his use of the personnel on the Steelers, especially with players like Cordarrelle Patterson, who gets plugged in at running back from time to time, even though Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are both better players.

Steelers Could Only Have Arthur Smith For One Season

Smith was a head coach in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 through 2023, and he has shown the desire to be a head coach again at some point. This was a big reason he decided to take the job in Pittsburgh, so that he could learn under Tomlin. There should be a considerable amount of coaching vacancies after the 2024 season, and Smith has already been reported to be a name to look out for.

As of now, there are three vacancies at head coach in the NFL with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Chicago Bears. There are expected to be at least seven by the time the offseason rolls around, and Smith will likely be contacted to participate in some interviews. The coordinator hasn't publicly stated his plans following the 2024 season, but it would be wise for him to stick around Pittsburgh and see what he could accomplish with Tomlin.

What do you think about Roethlisberger's comments about Smith? Let us know in the comments below!

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