When the Pittsburgh Steelers hired offensive coordinator Arthur Smith last offseason, the response was lukewarm at best. He had coached the Atlanta Falcons to a 7-10 record three years in a row before he was fired.
But there was some optimism dating back to his time as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. He had helped resurrect QB Ryan Tannehill’s career there. So optimistic people thought he might be able to do the same with either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. And Fields did show signs of progress, specifically posting a career-high 65.8 completion percentage. He also had five rushing touchdowns, second on the team.
But the Steelers still crashed out of the playoffs in the first round. And the offense was largely anemic over the five-game losing streak to end the season. So how do the Steelers view their offensive coordinator after a year? Well, general manager Omar Khan seems to think highly of Arthur Smith.
“Arthur did a really good job,” Khan said Tuesday to the media before the start of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “I like Arthur a lot. And we work well together. The quarterback has to be, we have to resolve the quarterback situation. And once we get that resolved, we’ll do our best to help surround that person with the right pieces to make Arthur’s job a lot easier.”
The Steelers did show signs of offensive growth in 2024 under Arthur Smith. They scored 22.4 points per game, 16th in the league. In 2023, under former offensive coordinator Matt Canada and interim co-coordinators Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan, the Steelers managed just 17.9 points per game. That ranked 28th.
So definite growth there. Also in 2023, the Steelers quarterbacks (Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph) combined to throw for 13 touchdowns in 17 games. That was 30th in the league. In 2024, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson combined to throw 21 touchdowns passes, 20th in the league.
It wasn’t perfect, obviously. But it was an improvement despite a lack of playmakers at wide receiver outside of George Pickens and a quarterback switch in Week 7. And Khan said Tuesday that he’s prioritizing the wide receiver position this offseason.
Khan also mentioned the quarterback position when referring to Smith. It’s the biggest topic of the Steelers’ offseason so far. Khan spoke about the position further, saying he’d like to have either of Wilson or Fields back in 2025. Having some stability at quarterback would be beneficial for the development of the Steelers’ offense.
And Omar Khan wants to make Arthur Smith’s life easier in 2025 by solving that issue.
