One of the most important relationships when it comes to the success of an NFL offense is between a quarterback and his offensive coordinator. The OC is the brains of the operation and calls the majority of the plays throughout a game. The quarterback communicates that to the offense and executes the play.
Like any relationship, it operates best when the communication goes both ways.
“The great thing about Arthur [Smith] is he communicates with us a lot,” QB Justin Fields said in a video posted by Steelers Live on X. “[He] talks to us about what we like, what we don’t like. So it’s quarterback friendly. And he might like a play, but if we don’t like it, then he’s not gonna call it.”
It is hard to say for sure, but there is evidence that would suggest a possible disconnect in the area of two-way communication when Matt Canada was the offensive coordinator. He was up in the coaches’ box on game day until his final few games with the team. That alone creates at least some barrier to communication, or the Steelers wouldn’t have made the change as a last-ditch effort before firing him in the middle of the season.
Former Steelers TE Jace Sternberger criticized the simplicity of the Steelers’ offense and the lack of attention to detail coming from Canada during an interview with Locked On Packers last November.
On the flipside, Smith has routinely been praised by Fields, Russell Wilson, Pat Freiermuth and others for his attention to detail and communication with the offense.
This is an encouraging sign for the offense. The best offensive coordinators are able to build the offense around their personnel instead of trying to force their philosophy and mentality on the players. But it is also a balancing act. They need to push the players to grow and evolve while also making sure the system fits their skill set.
Ryan Tannehill, who played under OC Arthur Smith for two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, talked about Smith via the Scoop City podcast on Friday.
“We really had a close relationship,” Tannehill said. “He had just the right touch of push without being over the top where it became a negative thing. Pushed me to try unconventional things with the play-actions and things that I hadn’t really done before. It was kind of new to me, a lot of the stuff we were doing, and pushed me to just jump in and give it a try. So I did and it was working, and so I just kept trusting him and kept leaning into it.”
Between what Fields and Tannehill each said about Smith, it seems that he is very aware of his role to both push the players to grow while also playing to their strengths. That should mean great things for this offense in 2024, and a stark contrast to what we all witnessed with Canada over the last three seasons.
