PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – With only three official interviews conducted, NFL Network reports the Steelers will hire former Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith as the team’s next offensive coordinator.
The 41-year-old was selected over Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson and former Carolina offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.
His numbers with the Falcons were not impressive. The team finished 7-10 each of his three seasons:
• 2021 Points-26th, Rushing-31st in yards-27th in TD, Passing-16th in yards-25th in TD.
• 2022 Points-15th, Rushing-3rd in yards-10th in touchdowns, Passing-31st in yards-24th in TD.
Before being named the Falcons head coach, Smith led one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL while offensive coordinator at Tennessee. In his pair of seasons as OC, the Titans finished second in 2020 and third in 2019. This affected their passing game in that Tennessee ranked 30th in 2020 in passing attempts, however were eighth in touchdowns and second in interceptions. In 2019, 31st in passing attempts, eight in touchdowns and fifth in interceptions.
The bottom line stat while Smith was the head of the Titans offenses, Tennessee was fourth in points scored in 2020 and 10th in 2019.
The 41-year-old Smith was born in Memphis, his father the founder of FedEx. He attended North Carolina as an offensive lineman and started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with UNC in 2006. He was an offensive quality control coach with Washington and then Tennessee in the NFL. He would also coach offensive line and tight ends with the Titans.