Feb 2, 2024 5 min read

By Dale Lolley

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

The Steelers have made it official with Arthur Smith as their next offensive coordinator.

And some are panning the move because Smith isn’t a “hot, young coordinator.”

That’s laughable. At 41, Smith is hardly over the hill. And just three years ago, he was exactly what people are saying he isn’t.

Smith was hired as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons after two seasons as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

He had risen through the ranks with the Titans, serving as a defensive assistant before switching to the offensive side and then becoming a tight ends coach. Then, when Matt LaFleur was hired after just one season as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator to be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Smith moved into the coordinator position.

In two seasons, Smith designed an offense that averaged 25.1 and 30.7 points per game. Prior to that, nobody outside of his immediate family likely knew who he was.

Then he was the definition of a “hot, young coordinator.”

But he went 7-10 in three straight seasons as head coach of the Falcons, who when he took over were a red-hot mess in terms of the salary cap.

Here’s the thing: When the Steelers have added former head coaches to their staff, it’s worked out well.

Dick LeBeau was a failed head coach. So was Mike Munchak. And Todd Haley. And Brian Flores.

But just because you couldn’t win as a head coach in the NFL doesn’t mean you’re a bad coordinator. In fact, if you were a bad coordinator, you wouldn’t have gotten a shot at being a head coach.

• People arguing that Smith’s run-first mentality won’t work in today’s NFL haven’t been paying attention.

Of the four teams that were in the conference championship games last weekend, Baltimore, San Francisco and Detroit were ranked in the top five in rushing in 2023. And Kansas City has Patrick Mahomes, who has played in the conference championship in all six of his seasons as a starting quarterback.

• Some of the same people upset with the Steelers hiring Smith as offensive coordinator were the ones who were pushing for head coach Mike Tomlin to talk to former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

That’s the same Kingsbury who went 13-19 as head coach at Texas Tech with Mahomes as his quarterback.

Mahomes is now 74-22 as a starter in the NFL and will be playing in his fourth Super Bowl next Sunday.

• Steelers president Art Rooney II said last week that if he didn’t feel Tomlin was a coach capable of leading the team to a Super Bowl, then he wouldn’t still be the team’s head coach.

“I think the players still respond to Mike,” Rooney said. “That’s No. 1. He still has the key characteristics that we saw when we hired him. He can keep the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for a whole season, keep them in the fight the whole way. Still feel good about Mike. Obviously, if I didn’t, we’d make a change. I think if Mike wasn’t able to lead us to a championship, he wouldn’t be here. That’s why he’s here.”

Rooney also said there is a sense of urgency for the Steelers to win in the playoffs. The Steelers haven’t won a postseason game in seven seasons.

But Rooney also believes the Steelers are on the right track after winning 10 games in 2023, going 5-1 in the division and posting an 8-5 record against teams that finished the season with a winning record.

“I think it’s fair to say that I do feel that we’re closer this year at this stage of the game than we were at this point last year,” Rooney said. “I thought we had a really solid rookie class, a few guys that really stepped in as solid starters for the future. Need to do that again. Need to have another good draft class.”

• That process kicked into high gear as NFL teams descended upon Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl.

This year’s draft is particularly deep with offensive linemen, which is a rarity. It wouldn’t be surprising to see 10 or more taken in the first round this year.

They aren’t sexy picks, but they’re necessary.

• Smith turned Ryan Tannehill from a player Miami couldn’t wait to get rid of into a Pro Bowl quarterback with the Titans.

Those who don’t think Smith’s offense is quarterback friendly and won’t work with the Steelers need to do more homework.

Can he do that with Kenny Pickett? We’ll see.

But I wouldn’t bet against it.

Dale Lolley hosts The Drive on Steelers Nation Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.