The Pittsburgh Steelers will have primarily evaluated new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s tenure with the Tennessee Titans in the same role before hiring him. Not only is that the job they’ve brought him in to do, it’s where he’s done most of his coaching.
And those who worked with him believe that is the best tell of what Smith will bring to the Steelers. Former Titans head coach Mike Mularkey talked to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the hiring and what it means for the team.
“He will be a lot like what we were doing in Tennessee — multiple groupings, multiple formations, multiple shifts, motions”, he said. Mularkey, who served as Steelers offensive coordinator for three seasons in 2001-2003, also retained Smith on his Titans staff.
Mike Munchak gave Smith his first job in Tennessee in 2011 as a defensive quality control coach. He later served as offensive quality control coach, assistant tight ends coach, offensive line coach, and tight ends coach before becoming the offensive coordinator in 2019.
The Titans had a top-10 scoring offense in both seasons, including fourth in 2020. They also ranked second in yardage that year, with RB Derrick Henry rushing for over 2,000 yards. QB Ryan Tannehill had his best season, going 315-for-481 for 3,819 yards with 33 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He averaged 7.9 yards per pass attempt while also rushing for seven more touchdowns. Pickett has been compared to Tannehill before.
Arthur Smith’s offense featured heavy use of multiple tight ends and play action, prioritizing stress on the defense. “There will be a lot of things going on, trying to make a defense stay on their toes”, Mularkey said. “And if one of them makes a mistake, they’ll pay for it”.
Mularkey spent four seasons in Tennessee from 2014 through 2017. He started as tight ends coach before becoming interim head coach and then head coach for two seasons. All the while, he kept Smith on his staff.
“It’s all about the physical part, beating the guy across from you to a pulp,” he stressed to Dulac. “In all my team meetings and tight end meetings, whether he picked it up from me or not, I don’t know, that’s what he believes in”.
It’s what he did in Tennessee and what former Titans T Taylor Lewan believes he can do in Pittsburgh. He told Rich Eisen recently that they are now a deadly team going into the 2024 season just for the hiring of Smith.
Steelers fans will probably appreciate the notion of Arthur Smith wanting his offense to beat people to a pulp. Theoretically, they should have the personnel. They have two powerful running backs in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. They have physicality among blockers like Isaac Seumalo, Broderick Jones, and Darnell Washington.
