Arthur Smith on what he learned from Falcons tenure

Arthur Smith put his eggs in Desmond Ridder’s basket, and it ultimately cost the former Falcons head coach his job.

The third-round pick’s play was inconsistent at best, constantly handicapping the offense and the team as a whole. Ridder led the league in red zone turnovers; nobody could’ve succeeded with Atlanta’s quarterback play in 2023.

Granted, Arthur Smith did essentially parade Ridder around Flowery Branch as the next franchise quarterback. That’s a damning indictment of his assessment of the position, but in his defense, I don’t think anyone expected Ridder to be as bad as he was at times.

The Falcons ended up firing Smith, despite his pleas for a fourth season, citing a new quarterback could unlock the offense’s top 10 potential. He’s not wrong, but he won’t be able to see it through.

The Falcons under Raheem Morris’ leadership will now look to upgrade the quarterback position and task Zac Robinson with the challenge of maximizing the club’s three straight top 10 draft picks.

Arthur Smith, on the other hand, will be working under Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh as the Steelers offensive coordinator. In his first interview as a member of Tomlin’s coaching staff, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith talked with Missi Matthews, who asked him what he took away from his experience in Atlanta and how it can help him in Pittsburgh.

“It was a unique situation, essentially rebuild a team and there were some good lessons learned and some tough lessons,” Smith started. “It’ll help me here, especially with some of the young players that we have and how you fit the offense and try to play to those guys’ strengths and we had a lot of young guys we invested in and we had three straight years where a rookie went over a 1,000 yards.”

I’d say the hardest lesson Smith learned in Atlanta surrounded putting his job in the hands of a third-round pick. Among other things, his handling of the quarterback position had to be the biggest takeaway from his Falcons tenure. A similar trend could continue with his new team.

The breadth of talent in Pittsburgh is remarkable. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will lead the backfield, George Pickens and Diaontae Johnson will lead the receiving core while Pat Freiermuth and Darnwell Washington man the tight end position. It’s a more than capable skill group.

Arthur Smith will have to work with Kenny Pickett though, and the Steelers’ offense will only go as far as the Pittsburgh product takes them. As Falcons fans know, quarterback play can hinder a unit’s effectiveness. Omar Khan would be wise to invest in a reliable backup plan. Ryan Tannehill isn’t the savior or long-term answer, but his floor could potentially be worth a deal in case things don’t pan out for Pickett.

His familiarity with Arthur Smith should be attractive for Tomlin, Khan and the Steelers.

—

Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire