The 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers had a bottom-five scoring offense and one of the worst passing attacks in the league. Despite another 10-win season, it was obvious their broken offense simply wasn’t good enough to compete with the NFL’s best teams. Mike Tomlin himself had rather creative ways to describe some of his quarterback’s struggles, too.
That’s why they’re hiring ex-Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith — best known for egregiously misusing an offense with three former top-10 picks in Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson — to right the ship.
Hey, wait a minute. That doesn’t sound right.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Steelers are hiring Smith to take charge of their lifeless offense. And once again, it’s tough to see why, of all people, they settled on his services:
The #Steelers are expected to hire former #Falcons coach Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, per sources.
Smith had a top run game as #Titans OC before heading to Atlanta three years ago. Now he’ll be coaching Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and company in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/8QH8okMNgG
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2024
Prior to his disappointing tenure in Atlanta, Smith had coordinated the Titans to respectability during the peak Derrick Henry years. With Smith leading the offense, Tennessee made two playoff appearances and even a run to an AFC title game from 2019 to 2020. It was Smith’s top-three rushing offense that was arguably the biggest catalyst for such success. So, there is a precedent of making some kind of talent work.
Conversely, it’s not necessarily hard to get Derrick Henry going, a probable future Hall of Famer. And given everything that happened with the Falcons, Smith doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt with a clean slate in Pittsburgh. Part of the reason Smith faltered with the Falcons in the first place is that they never had a viable starting quarterback. Well, guess what? The Steelers’ current depth chart features Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph. Barring an addition of a difference-maker, that’s basically the same kind of quarterback futility that sunk Smith in Atlanta.
Good luck, Tomlin. Good luck, Steelers. You’re gonna need it.
