Prior to being hired as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator this offseason, Arthur Smith served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for the last three seasons. His first game calling the offense for Pittsburgh will be a matchup in Atlanta against the Falcons, but Smith is only focusing on his current team ahead of his return to Atlanta.
“You always got history somewhere. I know it’s obviously unusual a little bit, but it is what it is. Your mindset’s gotta be on our guys and doing whatever they can just to win the game. So you gotta have a neutral mindset about it,” Smith said via The Pat McAfee Show’s Mark Kaboly. “I’m not really an emotional, petty, person. I try to have discipline no matter who we’re playing.”
While beating the Falcons might be just a little bit sweeter for Smith, his job is to do whatever it takes for the offense to help the Steelers win week in and week out. Whether it’s against the Falcons, the Giants or the Ravens, the goal remains to win, and Smith isn’t getting caught up in his history with Atlanta.
That’s the right attitude to have, even though he admitted the circumstance is a little bit unusual. This isn’t a Week 11 matchup where he makes his return. It’s the first game of the season and it’s gotta be a little bit weird to be preparing to coach against a team he poured everything into for the last three seasons. But his focus right now is on his current role and his current team and making sure Russell Wilson and Co. are well-equipped to put points on the board against a Falcons defense that added Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons over the last month.
Smith’s offense will be watched closely on Sunday to see if the Steelers can improve on that side of the ball after struggling under Matt Canada over the last few seasons. It’s an important game for Smith and for the Steelers to get off on the right foot, and that would be the case no matter who the opponent is. While Smith’s return adds another layer to the matchup, the goal doesn’t change and the added drama of returning to Atlanta shouldn’t affect Pittsburgh offensively.
