When the Pittsburgh Steelers addressed the quarterback room this offseason, it was a complete rebuild from the ground up. None of the 2023 quarterbacks are on the roster. However, when the Steelers hired offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, there wasn’t a similar purge of the offensive coaching staff. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner, who also served as co-interim offensive coordinator for part of 2023, is still with the team.
So how well will coaches like Faulkner be working with Smith? Will there be struggles or will it be a good learning experience?
“I’m the running backs coach, so what I find interesting is how much we run it, and we like to run it,” Faulkner said about working with Smith during the first day of mandatory minicamp per video from Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski. “So I’m excited about that. It’s always cool learning [a] different perspective on things. Arthur’s really good about allowing us to sharpen our tool with each other and give our thoughts and use all the heads in the room. So that part has been great.”
Eddie Faulkner on what he finds interesting about new Steelers OC Arthur Smith: pic.twitter.com/q6G3aTJAIM
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) June 11, 2024
From Faulkner’s words, it sounds like the offensive coaches are free to give input and thoughts under Smith. Getting that feedback from positional coaches is a good thing. They know their players better than anyone because of the amount of time they spend together. Offensive coordinators need to know what’s going on with all of the players on offense in order to do their job properly.
But to expect them to have a finger on the pulse of every offensive player to the degree that the positional coaches should is unrealistic. Offensive coordinators need to have a bigger-picture view than the positional coaches.
We heard from former Steelers TE Jace Sternberger about how former offensive coordinator Matt Canada didn’t take the time to explain why players were running routes or executing the assignments he told them to. He simply expected them to do what he told them.
From what Faulkner is saying, it sounds like Smith is much more interested in conversation and understanding than a regimented following of orders that Canada sought. So even though Faulkner did not get to make the offensive coordinator title permanent after stepping in midseason alongside Mike Sullivan, it sounds like he appreciates what Smith is bringing to the table and is happy to be working alongside him.
