Before Arthur Smith ever set foot in Pittsburgh as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, there were already plenty of connections between the organization and himself. Thanks to his time as the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans, Smith crossed paths with a number of former Steelers players and coaches.
Smith can rattle off their names, like Mike Vrabel, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey, Russ Grimm, and others. They had all spent time in Pittsburgh and then with Smith in Tennessee. Each one of those men played a role in how Smith answered the call from Mike Tomlin about coming to Pittsburgh.
“Hell yeah, I’m interested,” Smith said, recalling the phone call from Tomlin when speaking with reporters on Tuesday per video from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “I have such an appreciation of the history of this game and guys that have been big mentors to me had either coached here or played here. And I could go on and on… There’s so many guys, players and coaches, that swear by this place. And so when Mike called me, funny how timing in life works. I wanted him to know, hell yeah, damn straight I was interested, and I wanted this job and to work for Mike and what this place means.”
Arthur Smith says taking the Steelers job and working for Mike Tomlin was a “home run for me. … I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.” pic.twitter.com/Qe7EUOKkgj
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) June 11, 2024
Regardless of the frustration everyone in Pittsburgh from ownership to Tomlin to the fans about the lack of playoff success, the Steelers still have a reputation as being one of the best organizations in all of football. Even though Tomlin receives a big brunt of that frustration, deserved or not, his name holds sway across the league with players and evidently coaches.
And it appears that general manager Omar Khan is getting some love and attention in league circles as well.
“I got to know Omar a little bit over the years through the league meeting and whatnot and certainly Mike,” Smith said. “And that was very appealing. You know, it’s rare when you have a guy that’s been in one spot, had the success he’s had that’s older, done it for a longer time. Somebody you can learn from that has really a shared belief. So really, it was a home run for me.”
There were plenty of questions raised by the Steelers’ hiring Smith as their new offensive coordinator. Some of those concerns might be unfounded, some maybe not. There are positive notes that show up in the underlying numbers about why fans can be positive about Smith’s appointment. Perhaps the Steelers will finally utilize Pat Freiermuth and his fellow tight ends again. Those are questions that will be answered throughout the course of the summer and the 2024 season.
But for Smith, there were no questions to be raised about coming to Pittsburgh. Other than maybe how soon could he get started?
