While the Pittsburgh Steelers sputtered offensively to end the season, never scoring more than 17 points or holding a lead during their five-game losing streak, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has still received head coach interest. The Chicago Bears and New York Jets put in requests to interview Smith, and ESPN insider Dan Graziano predicted Smith will land the Jets job. In an article predicting who gets hired for each opening, Graziano writes that the Jets were interested in Smith back in 2021, which will help his candidacy.
“I could certainly see the Jets ending up with Aaron Glenn or Brian Flores, but I’ve already predicted those guys to land elsewhere. Smith was a candidate of interest to Jets owner Woody Johnson back in 2021, when the team hired Saleh,” Graziano writes. “But at the time, Johnson was serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom and was not directly involved in the search. The Jets also considered bringing in Smith and adding him to their offensive staff last year before the Steelers hired him as their coordinator.”
The Jets also have a general manager opening, and whoever they hire as their new GM would likely want to sign off on the move. But Graziano likened the situation to when the Jets hired Adam Gase after the Dolphins fired him because Woody Johnson liked him and missed out on him the first time around. With the team not hiring Smith in 2021 and then again losing him to Pittsburgh last offseason after offering him a job, New York may look to bring him into the organization once and for all.
While Pittsburgh’s offense struggled down the stretch, it did have some flashes this season, and Graziano writes that Smith “found a way to make some pretty effective chicken salad out of a not-great QB situation in Pittsburgh.” He did indeed get the best out of Justin Fields through the first six games of the season and then made Russell Wilson look like the answer for a few games midway through this season. That, of course, fell apart, and Pittsburgh never really could establish its run game, which was supposed to be a hallmark of Smith’s offense.
But his prior head coaching experience with the Atlanta Falcons and making Fields and Wilson look good at times this season has made him an attractive candidate to teams. With the Jets having prior interest, it could work in Smith’s favor. For the Steelers, it would leave them needing to hire an offensive coordinator for the second offseason in a row, and while Smith did an alright job, his work down the stretch left a lot to be desired in terms of game planning and play-calling. So, it might not be the worst thing if Pittsburgh has to go in another direction.
The Jets and Bears are the only two teams that have put in an interview request for Smith, so once those vacancies are filled, we’ll know if Smith is staying in Pittsburgh or leaving for a head coaching job.
