Arthur Smith is the latest former NFL head coach the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin has taken onto his staff. In Smith’s case, he signed on to be the team’s offensive coordinator. While he hopes to earn another head coaching job, it’s unclear how his start in Pittsburgh has helped him. After all, his offense ended the season on the skids.
But that wasn’t all on Arthur Smith, and it seems many around the league don’t hold it against him. That is the gist of what CBS NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. Suffice is to say that he inherited a Steelers offense with a ton of problems. He might not have had the freshest ingredients, but he made a meal out of the pantry.
“I can’t tell you how many times people have said to me how impressed they were by what Arthur Smith and this offensive staff were doing to squeeze every ounce out of this offense”, Kinkhabwala said. “Going from what the quarterback is capable of to all of the messes with George Pickens and the distractions of that”.
We can, of course, run down the list of issues the Steelers faced on offense last year. To begin with, they completely turned over the quarterback room Arthur Smith originally signed up to coach. Now, maybe he was on board with those moves all the way, but many believe he favored Justin Fields over Russell Wilson. If that is the case, then he obviously didn’t get his way.
The Steelers left themselves thin at wide receiver after trading Diontae Johnson and not appropriately replacing him. At the end of the season, president Art Rooney II basically admitted they screwed up there. Arthur Smith is a run-first guy anyway, but what else can he do with nobody to throw to?
Now, by no means should Smith be absolved of all blame. He would be the first to admit that, and he has taken the blame for things in the past. But it’s clear that the Steelers did not have their offense up to the standard he needed.
And there is even some question as to how much say-so he had on matters pertaining to his unit. Some argue that Mike Tomlin is pulling the strings and Smith is limited by how his head coach wants the Steelers’ offense to be run. While he might not exert as much control as over the defense, he clearly has a hand in everything.
Smith did take some interviews for head coaching jobs this offseason. That alone lends some credence to the idea that others around the league may not hold him accountable for the Steelers’ offense coming up short. They had some good stretches, but things unraveled late in the year.
Depending on who you ask, and perhaps when, Arthur Smith has either too much or not enough control. The Steelers presumably hired him because he is a professional. They wanted him to handle the offense. If they are not doing that, they probably should next season.
