With the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs, the coaching carousel can finally start to move with some of the top candidates out of the tournament and available to interview. That means we should soon find out whether or not Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith is staying with the team or being hired elsewhere.
He had interviews with both the Chicago Bears and New York Jets last week. Reports indicate that the Bears narrowed their search down to a couple other candidates, so the Jets job remains the most likely for Smith. The Jets are reportedly after Lions DC Aaron Glenn, but Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr thinks that Arthur Smith could be the backup plan if Glenn goes another direction.
“If Glenn is lured elsewhere, the Jets have a strong interview history with a few second-chance head coaches who are both ready for the big chair again,” Orr wrote.
Along with Arthur Smith, former Bears head coach Matt Nagy was listed as the Jets’ “plan B” if Glenn doesn’t work out. Nagy is the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, so there is a potential for him to remain in the playoffs for a few more weeks. If they don’t want to wait that long into the offseason, perhaps that could give Smith the edge between the two.
ESPN insider Dan Graziano predicted last week that Smith would ultimately be the Jets’ hire. Though it isn’t clear if Smith would take that job. He said he would only be looking to leave Pittsburgh for the perfect situation. While a high draft pick and a new general manager could be enough to lure him with some existing talent on the roster, they’ve been a dysfunctional franchise for a long time and just fired a head coach mid-season after things weren’t working out with 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
That doesn’t sound like the perfect situation to me, but a head coaching gig is a head coaching gig. Smith would yet again be going somewhere without the quarterback situation figured out, which has been the story of his entire career as an offensive coordinator and a head coach.
