The Steelers rank 10th in scoring, 13th in third-down conversion rate, 14th in yards per game, and 9th in rushing yards per game. That production is even more impressive, considering Smith’s done it with two quarterbacks in Justin Fields and Russell Wilson.
Pittsburgh’s offense now complements the defense and the entire ethos of Mike Tomlin and how the Steel City wants to play football. The former Falcons head coach never found success in terms of wins and losses, but part of that can be attributed to the quarterback play.
Of course, Smith certainly had a say — some speculate a lot of say — in Atlanta rolling Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Taylor Henicke out during his tenure. That has to be held against him to a certain extent, but it’s clear that his offense is effective with the right signal caller, and other clubs are noticing.
The North Carolina job opened up with Mack Brown getting fired, and the Tar Heels were interested in the alumni, but Smith didn’t reciprocate. That’s not the only opening apparently available to him, though.
ESPN reporter Rich Cimini seemingly said that Arthur Smith can be considered a “darkhorse candidate” for the Jets’ job, while speaking on the Flight Deck podcast.
“Another name to watch, he is kind of a dark horse candidate, Arthur Smith currently the Steelers offensive coordinator. He was one of the runner-ups to [Robert] Saleh in 2021,” Cimini said.” “Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Jets hired him because we all know Saleh wanted to hire Smith last offseason to come in and oversee the offense & Nathaniel Hackett. That never really got seriously close to happening because he knew he was going to go to Pittsburgh.
He has done a great job this year with Russell Wilson. I know I get it he was with Atlanta for 3 years and Smith was the definition of mediocre. He was 7-10 in all 3 seasons w/ the Falcons but he does have head coaching experience. He is an offensive guy & he’s an interesting name. Clearly, this ownership is familiar with him. I’m not saying he is a frontrunner but he’s just an interesting name.”
Ironically, Robert Saleh did show an interest in Smith last season, but only to supervise the offense and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Who knows, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Saleh would still be the head coach in New York had he replaced Hackett with Smith.
Nevertheless, it would be wild to see grumpy Arthur Smith in front of the New York media every week. His attitude ran stale with Falcons fans very quickly; that’ll only be exaggerated in New York with Jets fans.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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