PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Arthur Smith was sitting in a hotel room in Dubai, pondering the next move in his life when he got a call from Mike Tomlin. That started the chain of events that landed him as the new Steelers offensive coordinator.
Smith was on vacation with his wife, as he promised her they would get away after he was fired by Atlanta. Tomlin said to let him know when they were stateside and Smith said as soon as he landed at JFK Airport in New York he called Tomlin and said he'll get on a plane to Pittsburgh and come interview right away.
"I knew I wanted to work, I wasn't going to stay out," Smith said Tuesday. "And then Mike called me and I was literally halfway around the world and said 'hell yeah, I'm interested'."
Smith would go home first, but the next day would be on the South Side talking to Mike Tomlin. He knew Tomlin only from owners' meetings but knew of him from those around the league and knew of the Steelers organization from so many he worked with from Mike Vrabel, Mike Mularkey, Russ Grimm, Dick LeBeau to Deshea Townsend, Nick Eason, Lou Spano and others.
"There are so many guys, players and coached that swear by this place," Smith said. "And so, when Mike called me and funny how timing in life works. I wanted him to know that hell yeah, I was interested and wanted this job and to work for Mike. You know what this place means, you know the history of the game and the way the Rooneys have done business here."
So now he goes from being a head coach back to being a coordinator, but Smith said that isn't a tough transition.
"It's not, if you don't have an ego or insecure," Smith said. "You can recalibrate and look at things you can learn. You get a coach like Mike to learn from and certainly in this place and the way they've done it."
As for why he didn't take any time off and wanted to get right back into coaching he joked that he doesn't know anyone in the business who is well adjusted to be able to do this job.
"I'm not enough to want to sit out," Smith said. "I want to compete."
He's brought a structure and accountability early on to the offense. Smith is hooking his wagon to the Steelers organization as Tomlin is his future to Smith.
