Arthur Smith was a steady riser throughout his NFL journey before the Atlanta Falcons fired him following a three-year stint as head coach. Many of his former players, however, continue to support him and have his back. And believe that he will reach the status of head coach again before long.
“What’s making this thing a lot easier is he’ll be just fine”, Falcons TE Jonnu Smith told reporters, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Knowing his resilience and the kind of man he is, he’ll bounce back. He’ll be back where he should be in no time”.
“Back where he should be” can only mean one thing in this context after a head coach gets fired. It means being a head coach again. Arthur Smith did not have that opportunity during this hiring cycle as some do. But he will surely return to the interview circuit if he succeeds as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Prior to the Falcons job beginning in 2020, nearly all of Smith’s pertinent NFL coaching experience came with the Tennessee Titans. He wore many different hats over a decade of service, culminating in a two-year stint at offensive coordinator. They were an unstoppable offense in the red zone, scoring a touchdown over 75 percent of the time during that two-year span. And not all of Atlanta’s failings are squarely his own.
Arthur Smith did not exactly lead a hard-knock life. He is the son of a billionaire and never wanted for anything in his life that money could buy. With that being said, he has been universally praised for his work ethic. While his NFL coaching journey began with a team in which his billionaire father held a stake, part of the reason he left Washington was to escape that shadow.
He built his own legacy in Tennessee, and the fact of the matter is that his success is tangible. His 2019-20 offenses showed vast improvement over what he inherited as a prior position coach. That’s the reason that he earned an opportunity to become a head coach at 38.
Now 41, he is back in a coordinator role with the Steelers and preparing to earn his stripes yet again. The thing is, every coordinator becomes a millionaire after no more than a few years with the salaries these teams pay. At a certain point you’re dealing exclusively with the upper echelon, the advantaged. Those who have opportunities. Like, oh I don’t know, a very successful head coach father, like Kyle Shanahan’s.
Arthur Smith proved himself in the NFL as a coach through his job performance. His three-year stint as head coach in Atlanta did not work out, but that’s not the end of the road. It’s merely a detour, and he has plenty of passengers along with him.
“He’s just a hell of a person, man”, Batko quotes Jonnu Smith as saying. “I don’t know how many interviews I did about Art, but truly, I can’t do enough”. He made those remarks the day that his head coach learned of his dismissal. A month later, he has another job in Pittsburgh and another chance to prove himself. Another stone on which to step to return to the summit.
