The Pittsburgh Steelers went out and hired one of the best offensive coordinators in football in Arthur Smith this offseason, and head coach Mike Tomlin has had his eye on Smith for awhile.
In an interview on Movin’ The Chains with Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Tomlin talked about the addition of Smith and said he’s been following Smith since he was the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
“I’ve really kind of followed Arthur since he was in Tennessee. We have a shared relationship with [Mike Munchak], our former offensive line coach. I know the bones of his background and the things that he valued, we have shared values from that perspective. We competed against him a lot when he was in Tennessee, just got a lot of respect for him from a strategic standpoint and his approach to the game and the way he builds offensive units.”
Smith’s identity to build a physical football team aligns with Tomlin, and the Steelers should showcase their physicality on offense this season. Receivers are buying into the idea of blocking and being physical, and with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in the backfield, the Steelers can look to run all over teams this season.
Munchak was the head coach in Tennessee from 2011-2013, and he served as the team’s offensive line coach from 1997-2010 before that. Smith was brought in by Munchak as a defensive quality control coach in 2011, before moving to the offensive side of the ball in 2012 and then becoming Tennessee’s offensive line coach in 2013, Munchak’s last season with the Titans. That relationship with Munchak, who then joined Tomlin and the Steelers as their offensive line coach from 2014-18, likely helped Tomlin know and learn more about Smith than he otherwise would have.
The mutual connection to Munchak certainly helps, and Smith was motivated to join the Steelers from what he heard about the organization from players and colleagues, and even said he didn’t care about who they had at quarterback. Working with Tomlin with the two of them having shared values likely makes things easier, as Smith will know that he and the head coach see eye-to-eye.
After a disastrous last three seasons offensively, the Steelers will look to finally have some production with Smith running the show on offense this season. With Russell Wilson and Justin Fields added to the quarterback room, the Steelers have an upgrade there, and they should be better on the ground with Smith’s rushing attack. It might be fun to watch the Steelers play offense this season, something that we couldn’t say the last few seasons, and Smith could wind up being an X-factor for how far this team can go.
