Andy Weidl may not have directly hired Arthur Smith to be the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, but he sure seems like the guy he would hire if he had that authority. Both have offensive line backgrounds as players, which doesn’t hurt, and they both view the game through the trenches. In his eyes, Smith has only solidified his reputation since arriving in Pittsburgh.
“I think a lot of it is that you’re used to doing the grunt work”, he said of Arthur Smith via the Steelers’ website. “Working together, being a part of the offensive line. We say it’s a team within a team, and it’s a brotherhood. And Arthur’s been awesome to work with. He jumped right in”.
Arthur Smith may come from money, but you wouldn’t know it with how he approaches the game of football. An All-State high school offensive lineman, he had an abbreviated starting career in college, in part due to a foot injury. He immediately transitioned into coaching from there and has been in the NFL since 2007, minus one year.
While he hopes to build a new legacy in Pittsburgh, Smith established his reputation with the Tennessee Titans. He began there as a defensive quality control coach before coaching the offensive line and then tight ends. After a successful yet short stint as offensive coordinator, he earned a head coaching opportunity with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers—and others around the league—consider it their good fortune that he failed there. They hired him as their new offensive coordinator, viewing him as the man to instill the right culture and scheme. Even Andy Weidl is seeing visions of his past when looking at what Smith brings to Pittsburgh.
“If you remember his teams in Tennessee – the offenses — they were physical, they were tough, they imposed their will, and it’s aligned with what we want to do here, and what we want to be”, he said of Smith. “Just a great guy and an easy fit here in Pittsburgh, with his mentality, his background. … We’re lucky to have him”.
After three years under Matt Canada as offensive coordinator, Steelers players find Arthur Smith very refreshing. Even rookie Troy Fautanu is excited to play in the physical, offensive line-heavy system that he is installing.
The Steelers wanted to re-establish a physical identity on offense, a process that started last offseason. They obviously didn’t feel they were making enough progress there, however, as they made some radical changes.
Not only did the Steelers turn over their entire quarterback room, they drafted three offensive linemen. The wide receiver room also looks substantially different, minus George Pickens as the new focal point. Smith hopes to exploit him in his system, especially in the vertical game but built around mismatches.
More than that, the Steelers like the way Arthur Smith runs the offense. Russell Wilson, for example, raved about his play-calling, which he’ll experience in-game Saturday night for the first time. I don’t know how everything will play out, but like Weidl, I see Smith as providing a framework for success.
