New Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith survived three boss firings while a member of the Tennessee Titans organization. First hired by Mike Munchak in 2011, his first head coach lasted three seasons. Ken Whisenhunt kept him on the staff before his in-season firing a year later.
Mike Mularkey finished the 2015 season as interim head coach before getting the full-time job in 2016—with Smith in tow. Mike Vrabel replaced him in 2018 and then promoted Smith to offensive coordinator a year later.
Munchak. Whisenhunt. Mularkey. All of those names should be familiar to Steelers fans as they weigh the prospects of Arthur Smith’s offense succeeding in Pittsburgh. Whisenhunt and Mularkey both served as offensive coordinators for the Steelers. Munchak, after his time in Tennessee, joined Pittsburgh’s staff as offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
The point is, there’s a pattern here. Smith obviously didn’t keep his job through four different head coaches out of charity. They believed in his coaching methods as he worked up the ranks. And Whisenhunt spoke to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about his belief that Smith can succeed with the Steelers.
“He understands what he’s up against in terms of preparing and calling plays. You’re bringing in a guy who can help stabilize the quarterback position. I think he’ll fit in well there”, he said. “He was very good at trying to learn the details of the position, talking to the players and interacting with them. You could tell he was a smart guy”.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, stabilizing the quarterback position is a prime focus this offseason. I don’t believe Arthur Smith would be here as offensive coordinator if the Steelers didn’t believe he could do that.
Not that he doesn’t come with a round of skeptics. He had a young quarterback the past two seasons that he struggled to develop, after all. He benched Desmond Ridder twice due to his mistakes during the 2023 season.
At the very least, he inherits in Pittsburgh a quarterback who is less prone to the fatal mistake. Kenny Pickett is known for his ball security. If anything, Smith’s task will be to get Pickett to be more aggressive and take more risks.
Whisenhunt first joined the Steelers organization as tight ends coach in 2001. He earned a promotion to offensive coordinator in 2004 before moving on after three seasons to become a head coach. He since wore many hats and last coached in the NFL in 2019 as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Smith also rose up the ranks in a single organization under Whisenhunt and others, including a stint as tight ends coach before earning coordinator rights. He, too, left for a head coaching opportunity in Atlanta. Was he ready for it? Were the Falcons too impatient? It’s a moot point now. His focus moving forward is to stabilize the quarterback position within the structure of a productive offense.
