Arthur Smith is not the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons anymore, but he did bring four of his players along with him on his new job as offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two of them know him at lot better than most, having spent years playing for him.
This past week, TE MyCole Pruitt said that he is confident that Smith wants to show the Falcons up Week 1. While he didn’t like losing his job, his former players see positive changes in him. No longer shackled with head coaching responsibilities and in a more stable position, he doesn’t carry himself the same.
“Honestly, he seems a lot different — in a good way” said another of Smith’s long-term players, Cordarrelle Patterson, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It seems like he doesn’t have so much stress on him, you know”?
Arthur Smith has said as much since accepting the Steelers job, but you expect a person to say that. I think it means a little bit more when you hear from players who know him well that he actually seems to be carrying himself in a positively new way.
“Ever since I met Arthur, he’s been my guy. It was a no-brainer for me to come here when he got the job”, Patterson said, reiterating familiar sentiments. “I’d do anything for him”. What he appreciates most about Smith is his work ethic in spite of his privileged upbringing. He chooses to work, and work hard, even though he hasn’t had to work a day in his life.
“Hell nah. You wouldn’t even know”, Patterson said about Arthur Smith coming from great wealth. “Some of the running backs didn’t even know that. And that’s a good thing. He doesn’t go around telling everyone, ‘My dad is a billionaire, I don’t [freaking] need this job’. He got it out the mud. That’s probably why a lot of guys respect him. He worked his way up”.
Smith began as a graduate assistant in the college ranks, though he “earned” his first NFL job very soon after, serving two seasons as a quality control coach in Washington, where the Commanders play in a stadium named after his father’s company.
But that didn’t last long, and he resurfaced a couple years later in Tennessee, where he built his reputation. Smith rose from a quality control coach to an offensive coordinator over many years, which led to the Falcons job.
In hindsight, one wonders if Arthur Smith regrets taking that head coaching position. At the least, he is now better for the experience, understanding what a head coach goes through. But he does seem genuinely happy being back in the lab in a more hands-on role. He even spent considerable time working directly with the tight ends, a position he formerly coached. But I’m sure you’ll find that he has his hands in every corner of the offense allowed to him. That’s his happy place—just ask Patterson.
