Getting to know Arthur Smith, the new offensive coordinator for the Steelers

Getting to know Arthur Smith, the new offensive coordinator for the Steelers

ESPN has learned from league sources that the Steelers will likely hire Arthur Smith, who used to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, as their new offensive coordinator.

Monday, Steelers owner Art Rooney II talked about the upcoming hire for the job. He also said that the hire would happen as soon as possible.

“We’re eager to have someone come aboard and take a fresh approach who will assist our young players grow as individuals and have the wrongdoing perform at a consistently high level,” he said.

Early this month, Smith was demoted by the Falcons after three straight 7-10 seasons with a 21-30 record and no playoff appearances. Before going to work in Atlanta, Thomas was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to 2020.

Smith joined Tennessee’s staff in 2011 as the defensive quality control coach. Before being promoted to offensive coordinator, he worked as the offensive quality control coach, offensive line coach, assistant defensive line coach, and tight ends coach.

“I think Mikey identified that we want somebody with some experience and, let’s say, a history of success which we can look at and who we feel comfortable to,” Rooney said on Monday about what Michael Tomlin, the coach, wants in an O-coordinator.

Smith’s Falcons offense wasn’t always reliable, and he got a lot of flak in Atlanta for how he used running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts, and the quarterback situation.

After starting four matches as a rookie, Ridder became the primary quarterback in 2023. However, he was taken out of the game twice this season and threw 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Smith has run an offense via a strong rushed attack before, though. In 2022, the Falcons accumulated the third-most rushing yards. In Smith’s last season in Tennessee, the Titans were the team that had the second-most rushing yards.

Monday, Rooney said he wanted to go back to a rush attack and wanted to improve the play of the quarterback and Pickett’s development.

Smith and the Falcons picked quarterback Desmond Ridder in the second round of the 2022 draft, two rounds after the Steelers picked quarterback Kenny Pickett.

“I think we have two high-performance running backs or Najee [Harris] and Jaylen [Warren] along with them, along an improving offensive side can be the foundation for success going forward,” Rooney II stated.

The Steelers ran for 2,010 yards during the regular season with those two running backs. Harris had two 100-yard games in the last two games of the season, which was a late surge.

Michael Penix Jr., a former star quarterback for Washington, has built his career on overcoming hardships. During his first two seasons of university football at Indiana, he suffered four injuries that ended his seasons.

Penix has been healthy for the past two years at Washington. As a starter, he went 25-3 and led the nation in passing yards each game in both 2022 and 2023. Penix knows that people will want to know about his medical history.

Penix went to the Senior Bowl this past weekend to try to get picked in the first round of the NFL draft. His history of injuries is one reason why his impressive performance over the last two years hasn’t lived up to his draft projections.

Penix told ESPN that he saw Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache, a famous surgeon from Los Angeles’s Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic.

Penix has had two ACL tears in his right knee, which ended his two 2020 seasons. ElAttrache got scans of the knee.

Any team with questions can talk to ElAttrache, Penix told ESPN. He also said that ElAttrache gave him the “thumbs up” and “nothing is holding me back.”

That fits with how Penix’s knee has felt in each of the three seasons as the second ACL tear. During those three seasons, he hasn’t missed a single practice, workout, or game because of that injury.

And he said, “Some of that I can’t handle.” At that point, all I can do is show them and tell them how I feel. I have a lot of scans to show them, and the doctor says I’m fine. I don’t understand why they think I’m hurt. I’ll just show them what I can do.

Penix did that a lot on the Washington field over the last two years. In 2023, he led the Huskies to the College Football Playoff. They went 14-0 before losing to Michigan in the championship game of the College Football Playoff.