Three days after completing their courting with Arthur Smith, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced his hire as offensive coordinator on Friday.
Smith, 41, has been the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach for the previous three seasons. He previously served as the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator for two seasons.
The Steelers interviewed Smith on Sunday and hired him the day before the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Coach Mike Tomlin spent the week in Mobile scouting players for the 2024 draft, delaying the unveiling of the offensive coordinator.
“It’s such a unique opportunity to be able to work for an organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Smith told the team’s website. “With the history and the culture here, and the opportunity to work with Mike Tomlin, to me it’s a perfect cultural fit.”
The Falcons were 7-10 in each of Smith’s three seasons as head coach. He had better results as offensive coordinator in Tennessee, where he worked with workhorse running back Derrick Henry and experienced quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
In 2020, Smith’s second season as head coach of the Tennessee offensive, the Titans had the NFL’s second-best running game and finished fourth in points.
Smith is recognized for his work with running backs, and he will lead a group that includes three-time 1,000-yard rusher Najee Harris and multi-purpose back Jaylen Warren. Last season, each Steeler back had more than 1,000 scrimmage yards.
Smith succeeds Matt Canada, who was sacked in November during his third season as offensive coordinator. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner served as temporary coordinator for the remainder of the season, with quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan calling the plays on game day. Neither was considered for a full-time position.
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Steelers will interview three individuals for positions on the offensive staff.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Arthur Smith, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, as their offensive coordinator earlier this week, and they’re not done yet.
According to Noah Strackbein of All Steelers, Pittsburgh plans to interview many position coaches from throughout the league for positions on their new offensive staff.
Tom Arth, the passing game specialist for the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans quarterback coach Charles London, and Zach Azzani, the wide receivers coach for the New York Jets, will all visit with the club.
The Steelers appear to be determined to become a more progressive passing offense, and adding a pass-game coordinator to the staff would confirm this.
Arth was the head coach at Akron from 2019 to 2021 before joining the Chargers in 2022. London served as Smith’s quarterbacks coach in Atlanta from 2021 to 2022 before joining the Tennessee Titans’ staff in 2023. Azzani has been coaching wide receivers since 2015, when he also served as the Titans’ pass game coordinator. He has also spent time with the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and, most recently, the New York Jets in 2023.
