In the offseason, Mike Tomlin said he liked that his quarterbacks and offensive coordinator were all “somewhat scalded” by the way their previous jobs ended with other teams. This perfectly matched the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mentality entering the 2024 season after a tumultuous 2023 season that left many calling for Tomlin to be fired.
That worked out pretty well for the beginning of the season with a 4-2 Justin Fields, but it’s been even better with Russell Wilson. He is 6-1 as the starter and has the Steelers in position to achieve all of their goals if they can keep it up. Given that most people wrote Wilson off as a washed-up quarterback, what’s led to the drastic turnaround?
“When you talk to Mike Tomlin exactly about that, he said, I credit Arthur Smith an awful lot here because Arthur Smith invested one-on-one time with Russell Wilson,” said Jay Glazer via FOX NFL Sunday. “When we’re talking time here, he said, on Friday, everybody’s gone by two. He’s there till seven o’clock, and that’s an everyday thing between the two of them. It got Russell to buy into Steeler football.”
It all started with Wilson’s pre-signing visit to the Steelers when he was feeling out which team he wanted to play for on a $1.21 million minimum salary. The Steelers were the first to reach out, and then Wilson and Smith hit it off, reportedly talking for hours.
I imagine they discussed a wide range of topics during that time. Whatever it was, they laid a solid foundation for a productive QB-coordinator relationship.
Smith didn’t quite find that magic in Atlanta with late-career Matt Ryan or Desmond Ridder, but he has a track record of getting the best out of veteran quarterbacks. He turned Ryan Tannehill from a middling passer to a Comeback Player of the Year and Pro Bowler. Only this time, Smith gets to work with a much better starting point. Wilson is on a Hall of Fame trajectory and already has a Super Bowl ring in his collection.
With that premium piece of clay, Smith got him back into his Hall of Fame form. Statistically, Wilson’s numbers would be on par with some of his best seasons in the NFL if extrapolated to a full 17 games. The most impressive numbers are his 12 touchdowns to three interception ratio and his league-leading explosive play rate. With that comes a 7.68 ANY/A, which is just barely below his career high if it holds up.
Wilson and Smith spoke about their late nights in the office earlier in the season. Their wives would call them late on Friday nights, wondering where they were, and they would be in a one-on-one meeting figuring out how to put together the best game plan for the upcoming game. Smith and Wilson reportedly had a series of “very hard, honest” conversations about how things need to work for the team to be successful. Whatever arrangement they worked out is working very, very well.
Russell Wilson is only under contract this year, while Arthur Smith is rumored to be a head coach candidate in the league this cycle. This could be a one-and-done connection for the two, but something tells me they would like to continue this relationship, and they are just getting started.
