Whether you’re working at Walmart or head coach of an NFL team, it’s no fun being fired. But the latter job comes with a little more spotlight. For Arthur Smith, a man who had only climbed football’s ladder, he fell down a rung while going from Atlanta Falcons head coach the past three seasons to Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator for 2024. Addressing that change Tuesday, Smith said he’s leaving his ego at the door.
“It’s not, if you don’t have an ego or you’re insecure,” Smith said via Yardbarker’s Aaron Becker when asked if it was tough to adjust to his role. “You can recalibrate and look at things you can learn. A coach like [Mike Tomlin] to learn from and certainly in this place and the way they’ve done it. Obviously we’ve gone against them in different spots.”
From graduate assistant at his alma mater North Carolina, Smith was promoted time and time again throughout the 2010s. He entered the NFL in just his second year of coaching as a quality control coach for the Washington Redskins. Not a glamorous job but a chance to work at football’s highest level.
After a brief absence, he returned to the league in 2011 with the Tennessee Titans. Hired as a defensive quality control coach, he flipped to the offensive side going from quality control to o-line coach to tight ends coach before being named offensive coordinator in 2019. His Titans teams had great success running the ball and put together two impressive seasons, QB Ryan Tannehill turning his career around after busting in Miami.
It led Smith to be hired by the Falcons for 2021. But his three seasons where underwhelming, finishing 7-10 all three years. Ownership finally pulled the plug after 2023, the Falcons losing four of their last five games.
Pittsburgh quickly swooped in. After a quick coordinator search, the Steelers hired Smith before he could go elsewhere. Smith’s back in the role that might suit him best. He’s certainly thankful for the soft landing.
“People swear by this place. Mike Mularkey played for Chuck [Noll], worked here for Bill Cowher,” Smith said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better situation and it’s just studying Mike and the Steelers and what they’re about. I feel like it’s a perfect fit.”
Smith and Mularkey worked together in Tennessee, those Steelers roots pouring over into the Titans’ game plan. Smith’s job will be to turn Pittsburgh’s running game into one of the best in football and get that unit off to faster starts than the past two seasons.
Regardless of whether by land or air, Smith’s job is to put points on the board. Pittsburgh hasn’t had an above-average offense since 2020 and hasn’t had a top-10 group since 2018. The higher the rank, the better, but the Steelers must finish at least average in 2024. If they can do that couple with a top-10 defense, they’ll be a playoff team with a real shot to snap their postseason victory drought.
