The Pittsburgh Steelers under new OC Arthur Smith went 6-1 with Russell Wilson after Justin Fields posted a 4-2 record. Then, of course, they finished the regular season 0-4 with Wilson and lost in the first round of the playoffs. How and why did things go off the rails, and what do they need to do to get back on?
Part of the reason for the disparity in result was the degree of difficulty of the games. The Steelers had a rough stretch at the end of the year, along with other internal issues complicating matters. But the offense wasn’t putting up points, either. Before the losing streak, Arthur Smith and Russell Wilson turned the Steelers into a top-10 scoring offense. Why couldn’t they keep it going—beyond issues like George Pickens’ injury?
A report suggested that the Steelers’ offense dealt with some friction between Wilson and Smith. Many believe Smith preferred Justin Fields, who started while Wilson was recovering from injury. The thinking is he better fits Smith’s style of offense, which clashed with Wilson’s preferences and capabilities.
“Friction is a strong word”, Gerry Dulac wrote of the reports about Russell Wilson and Arthur Smith in a recent chat discussing Steelers issues. “But there was some type of disconnect between the way Wilson wanted to play and the way Smith wanted him to play. Not uncommon. Think Ben-Haley, Ben-Canada, Pickett-Canada”.
The Steelers hired Arthur Smith to be their offensive coordinator while the Broncos still had Russell Wilson under contract. At the time, they still had Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph and were likely seriously pondering their future in that direction.
When the Broncos made Wilson available, they seized the opportunity to upgrade the quarterback position. One would imagine the Steelers included Smith, tasked with resurrecting their offense, in those discussions, but who knows.
Speaking to Pat McAfee yesterday, Russell Wilson downplayed any friction between himself and Arthur Smith. “I think Arthur’s just a great coach”, he said. “We love trying to find ways to compete every day”.
Wilson also said he has begun conversations with the Steelers about returning in 2025. Yet he seems to be campaigning pretty hard, as though he is trying to take his case to the public. The Yinzers won’t decide who is the quarterback, of course—Mike Tomlin, Arthur Smith, Art Rooney II, and Omar Khan will.
During his first regular season with the Steelers, Wilson went 6-5 under Smith. He went 214-of-336 for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. The raw numbers look decent enough, but clearly, there were other things going on. Over the final five games, the Steelers scored under 15 points per game. Wilson threw two interceptions in that time, including a pick six, and fumbled three times, but it wasn’t just the obvious mistakes. Something was off about the play-to-play process. Was that a compatibility issue with Arthur Smith, or something else?
