Adapt or get left behind.
That’s largely how things are viewed in professional sports, not only for athletes but for coaches, too.
For new Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, adaptability appears to be a real strength. Based on the number of quarterbacks he’s coached in recent years, he’s adjusted his scheme in the process and seen quite a bit of success.
In Pittsburgh, Smith might have to adapt quite a bit, depending ultimately on which quarterback is under center for him, whether that’s Russell Wilson or Justin Fields.
For ESPN’s Dan Graziano, that ability to adapt for Smith is what drew the Steelers to the former Atlanta Falcons head coach and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator.
“I think that’s what drew them to Arthur Smith is their belief in his adaptability. Like, this guy can figure out how to operate different systems,” Graziano said of Smith, according to Get Up! on ESPN Friday morning. “So, you look at what he’s done in the past. I think the running quarterback speaks to sort of what he was able to do with Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee. And remember when he was in Atlanta, they tried to go with [Marcus] Mariota, so it may be that he leans toward the idea of a mobile quarterback, which, at this point of his career, Russell Wilson really kind of isn’t.
“So, if it’s Russell, what do you do? There’s certain things you’re not gonna be able to do based on what we’ve seen with Russell the last few years. You’re probably not gonna throw over the middle of the field a lot because, frankly, Russell hasn’t been very good at that. So, I do think that there’s an adjustment period in terms of installing the offense and that there’s a pretty good chance it’ll look different depending on who ends up being the starting quarterback.”
Surprisingly, a very level-headed, thought-out take from Graziano.
The best coaches adapt. You cannot expect everyone to do exactly what is asked of them within the scheme, regardless of who is in there. Good coaches adapt to the strengths and weaknesses of specific players, especially under center.
Smith has shown the ability to do that during his time as a coordinator and a head coach. In Tennessee, Smith adjusted and utilized more play-action passing with Ryan Tannehill, leading to a career resurgence for the athletic quarterback.
Even with Mariota in Tennessee and then in Atlanta, Smith adjusted his scheme to play to Mariota’s strengths, utilizing rollouts, designing runs, and more. Same with guys like Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder.
Though the Falcons went 7-10 each year, Smith’s offense had some success and looked different with each quarterback, showing that Smith could adapt and adjust to whoever was under center.
That should be no different in Pittsburgh, whether it’s Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. The two are largely similar in build and strengths, but Fields is more mobile at this point in his career and utilizes the middle of the field a bit better than Wilson does.
Check out the full Get Up! segment below.
