As the new offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arthur Smith has some tall tasks in front of him in Year 1 with the Black and Gold.
None of those tasks, like rebuilding the passing game, providing balance to the Steelers, and more, are bigger than the task in front of him at quarterback. That includes getting the best out of veterans Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
For The Athletic’s Mike Jones, salvaging Wilson, Fields — or both — is the biggest pressing question for Smith as the new play-caller for the Steelers.
“[Mike] Tomlin hired Smith, fired earlier this offseason after three seasons as Atlanta’s head coach, to breathe life into a stagnant Steelers offense. As OC in Tennessee, Smith displayed creativity that helped Ryan Tannehill produce some of his best seasons. But now he has an aging Wilson and an underdeveloped Fields to work with,” Jones writes of Smith’s biggest pressing question for The Athletic. “Smith likes throwing the ball over the middle. Wilson struggles here and is better throwing to the outside and downfield. Fields displayed great scrambling ability in Chicago but must grow as a passer.
“Wilson is expected to be the starter despite his unceremonious dismissal from Denver. Can Smith use a strong run game to ease pressure on Wilson, as the Seahawks did for years? If that doesn’t work, how quickly can he coach up Fields to play at a high level for Pittsburgh, which hasn’t enjoyed a deep playoff run since 2016?”
From a 30,000-foot view on the situation, the pairing of Wilson and Fields with Smith seems rather solid, especially Wilson. Smith builds his offense around a good running game, utilizes play-action and takes shots down the field. That’s the type of offense that Wilson thrived in during the peak of his career in Seattle, which saw the Seahawks win one Super Bowl and make a trip to another.
But diving deep, the fit isn’t as clean as it seems.
Smith likes to utilize the middle of the field, especially off play-action, and that’s an area of the field that Wilson hasn’t targeted much in recent years. Something will have to change there, whether that’s Wilson adjusting to Smith’s scheme, Smith adjusting a bit more to Wilson, or turning to Fields entirely under center.
Though the last three seasons in Atlanta weren’t all that great for Smith, he remains a highly respected offensive mind, one that the Steelers very clearly coveted in the search for a new offensive coordinator after two-and-a-half disastrous seasons under Matt Canada.
The bar is pretty low for Smith when it comes to being better than Canada, but it’s a tall task trying to salvage Wilson and Fields, at least in 2024.
Wilson was just fine for the Denver Broncos in 2023, throwing for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, but he hasn’t been anywhere close to the Russell Wilson that the NFL has known for years. His play has declined some entering his age-35 season, but he comes to Pittsburgh with a giant chip on his shoulder, aiming to prove people who are wondering if this is the end of his career wrong.
As for Fields, he showed flashes last season with the Bears, looking like a complete quarterback at times. But he was just too inconsistent, and the Bears couldn’t pass on the opportunity to select Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The talent is there, but Fields needs coached up.
That will fall on Smith and new QBs coach Tom Arth.
It’s a tall task for the Steelers, especially Smith, right out of the gate. Salvage the two big-name quarterbacks so that the Steelers can return to their winning, Super Bowl-competing ways.
