When the NFL rolled out this season’s schedule in May with the usual pomp and drama, Arthur Smith glanced at the fresh slate and took it like a good joke.
Months after he was dumped as the Atlanta Falcons’ coach, Smith is pegged to head back to the ATL to make his debut Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator.
And why not? Revenge games can be good for the soul.
The Steelers open the campaign with Smith’s return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, then in Week 2 his new quarterback, Russell Wilson, has a date in Denver.
“I kind of just laughed,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports following a training camp practice in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. “Because I had a feeling they’d probably do something like that. They put us in Atlanta and Denver. I mean, the NFL is the greatest reality show going.
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“But you’ve got to play the game at some point. They know what they’re doing when they make the schedule.”
While the NFL uses computers to help compile the schedule, clearly there’s a human element involved.
“It’s also who puts in the info for the algorithms, too,” Smith said. “Funny how that works.”
After three consecutive 7-10 seasons prompted Falcons owner Arthur Blank to cut the cord with the first-time coach, later replacing him with Raheem Morris, Smith was lured to perhaps the perfect landing spot to prove his worth. The Steelers, who fired coordinator Matt Canada during midseason in 2023, have built an identity with a physical brand of football that seems to match Smith’s coaching profile.
Then there are those other connections that suggest he’s a good fit for Mike Tomlin’s staff. During the 10 years of climbing the ladder with the Tennessee Titans, Smith worked alongside a notable lineup of former Steelers.
His first boss with the Titans? Mike Munchak, who was previously Pittsburgh’s O-line coach. Then it was Ken Whisenhunt, former Pittsburgh coordinator. Then Mike Mularkey, former Steelers tight end and offensive coordinator, ran the Titans. And finally, Mike Vrabel, who broke into the NFL as a Steelers linebacker, gave Smith his shot to coordinate the Titans offense starting in 2019. Deshea Townsend, who won two Super Bowls as a Steelers cornerback, also crossed Smith’s path as a Titans assistant.
“I’ve got too many good mentors,” Smith said. “I hate name-dropping, but in my experience I’ve had a lot of people who either played or coached in Pittsburgh at different times over the years, and everyone swore by this place.
“If you love the history of this game, it’s a historic franchise,” Smith added. “I’ve gotten to know Mike (Tomlin) a little bit over the years. When he called, I was like, ‘Hell. Yeah. This is where I want to be.’ “
Smith is the fifth full-time offensive coordinator of Tomlin’s era, which begins its 18th season. Surely, after the offense struggled last year, with the woes including the growing pains of young, since-departed quarterback Kenny Pickett, the Steelers are banking on Smith to have the type of impact he enjoyed while running the Titans offense in 2020. Tennessee ranked second in the NFL for yards and fourth for scoring that year, which set up Smith’s shot with the Falcons.
Sure, it was a no-brainer for Smith to build his Titans unit around bruising running back Derrick Henry. Power rushing was the ticket, with Henry smashing and dashing through the zone-blocking schemes for a career-high 2,027 yards in 2020.
It’s also notable that Smith flipped his script during his first year in Atlanta, building the offense around the arm of Matt Ryan. As a result, Atlanta ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing in 2021. The next year, Smith went back to a bread-and-butter rushing attack, and the Falcons ranked third in the league.
“The run stats were there, but how we did it (in 2022) was completely different than how I did it in Tennessee,” Smith reflected, mindful of the heavy emphasis on zone-read schemes. “Overall, there’s a physicality that you’re trying to bring. But it doesn’t have to be 1 yard and a cloud of dust all the time. Sometimes, that gets lost.”
Still, it figures that the offense that Smith is building with Pittsburgh won’t be effective without a reliable running game featuring running backs Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and even X-factor Cordarrelle Patterson. It’s a basic foundational principle that Wilson raves about, with play-action passes and quick timing throws flowing off the run game.
“Conceptually, Arthur Smith and I are so aligned in what we want to do and how we want to go about it,” Wilson, trying to revive his career after struggling with two coaches during two years in Denver, told USA TODAY Sports. “That relationship is everything. The bond that we have is really great. I’m looking forward to getting out there and doing my thang.”
Similarly, Patterson swears by Smith. Although he has largely made his mark as a dynamic kickoff returner, Patterson demonstrated at times during his first 11 NFL seasons that he can be lethal as a versatile weapon on offense. Smith found an ideal role for Patterson in 2021 and ’22, using him as a physical running back – while also deploying him all over the offense and as a receiver.
Visions of such a substantial role on an offense that also includes emerging receiver George Pickens and reliable tight end Pat Freiermuth represent a key reason Patterson followed Smith to Pittsburgh.
Count Patterson among those reading between the lines of the Week 1 matchup.
“It’s crazy, man, that it worked out like that,” Patterson told USA TODAY Sports. “You know they try to say the NFL is scripted. But it is what it is. I don’t make the schedule.”
Smith, 42, drew a lot of heat last season (especially) for not producing a consistently prolific offense, despite the presence of first-round talents Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson. The bigger issue, though, was quarterback play. Smith rolled largely with young signal-caller Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick in 2022 who struggled with turnover issues.
“Anytime you self-reflect on things, it’s, ‘If I had known this, what would you do differently?’ “ Smith said. “Again, you just look at yourself. Don’t blame others. Be grateful that you ever got a shot. That’s how I look at it. We brought some great people in, made some great friends. It didn’t go the way you wanted, but another door opened.”
And through that door is Wilson, a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback who is similarly eager to distance himself from the setbacks absorbed on the previous stop. In the wings is Justin Fields, the rising young quarterback who will inspire Smith and Tomlin to consider creating opportunities with special packages as a change-up…or perhaps more.
There’s also a new type of pressure. While Tomlin has, remarkably, never had a losing campaign as the Steelers’ coach, the franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season.
In Smith’s best-case scenario, success in Pittsburgh might position him for another shot as a head coach. But first things first. He characterized his new alignment with Tomlin as an essential opportunity for development.
“Mike’s 10 years older than me,” Smith said. “I can learn and grow from him. Just kind of recharge.”
He knows. His outlook has changed significantly, having had Tomlin’s role for a short time in Atlanta.
“I look at things completely different now,” he said. “I’ve got way more empathy for decisions he’s got to make. You learn. My perspective’s completely different. And you get to go back to the basics. You find that joy again. I’m having more fun being a coach. Taking a step back and re-setting, that’s awesome.”
Smith downplayed carrying any personal motivation attached to the upcoming trip to Atlanta.
“It’s not going to be about me,” he maintained. “It’ll be good to see the players I know. I brought a lot of those guys in. But life goes on. They’ve got a whole new regime, different schemes.”
But still. A victory against the Falcons would probably be a lot sweeter for Smith.
“It’s just like when you’re playing against family,” Smith allowed. “It’s competition and you want to win. But I’ve got a lot of great friends on the other side.”
Which is why, no joke, the NFL got it so right in sending the Steelers to Atlanta right off the bat.
