The Chicago Bears and New York Jets both requested interviews with Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, but in the lead-up to Pittsburgh’s Wild Card Round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, Smith’s focus lies with his current team. During his press conference today, he told reporters that he hasn’t met with the Bears or Jets yet because he doesn’t want to “cheat the game” or the Steelers.
“I will get to that during the appropriate time, but I cannot waste time and cheat the game and cheat the players and this organization. Our focus has to be on Baltimore,” Smith said via The Pat McAfee Show’s Mark Kaboly.
Smith can’t meet in person with any team because the Steelers are still in the postseason, and he can’t meet virtually until three days after the Wild Card round, so he could meet with them beginning Tuesday. It doesn’t sound like Smith will meet with either of them or any other team that requests him for an interview until after Pittsburgh’s season has concluded, as he wants his focus to be on the Steelers and going as far as possible with this team.
Per NFL rules, coaches on teams that are playing in Wild Card Weekend aren’t permitted to have a three-hour virtual interview until Tuesday, while coaches on teams that have already been eliminated from the postseason could be interviewed virtually three days after their final game. In-person interviews for coaches under contract can’t take place until Jan. 20, per FOX Sports, unless those teams are still alive for their conference championship. So if the Steelers win two playoff games and put themselves in position to be in the AFC Championship Game, Smith wouldn’t be permitted to meet in person with teams until after Pittsburgh loses, while other candidates would be allowed to meet in person.
It’s good that Smith’s focus is with the Steelers, especially since their offense has been struggling over their current four-game losing streak. Smith has to formulate a game plan to get the unit back on track if they any hope of beating Baltimore on Saturday, and that would be a lot harder to do if his mind was elsewhere and focusing on his head coaching interviews. With his focus fully with the Steelers, hopefully the offense can pull out of the rut it is in and help the Steelers avoid going one and done in the postseason for the fifth time in a row.
