PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Now that reports are Arthur Smith will be the next Steelers offensive coordinator, a look at his last five seasons. What were the numbers behind his two years as Tennessee offensive coordinator and last three season at Atlanta head coach.
Before we hear from Smith when he is announced as the Steelers new offensive boss at some point in the future, this is what he said about his offense when he was hired in Atlanta.
“It’s about playing to the strengths of your players,” Smith said in 2021. “Obviously when we had Derrick Henry at Tennessee, there is only one Derrick Henry. I don’t think we will find the next Derrick Henry. We will adapt to the players on the roster.”
“We tried to use the full force of our offense. The credit goes to the guys, the guys made a lot of plays for us.”
Other interesting quotes from Smith when starting in Atlanta
· “We got to be great up front. We want to be fast and physical. We are going to hold our best players accountable, drop the entitlement.”
· “We adapted at Tennessee to what is going on at San Francisco, the LA Rams, the Green Bay Packers. We were good with our foundation, but we did adapt. We will continue to do the same thing. We will not be rigid.”
· “The worst thing you can do is hire a bunch of ‘yes men’ on a staff. You want guys with experience. You want young guys. You want experienced guys. You got to challenge each other. There is fair criticism and you got to constantly evaluate.”
· “I will never think I have all the answers. I think once you do that you set yourself up for an epic fail. As soon as you think you have all the answers you are going to get humbled and this league will humble you quick.”
· “If you got two guys (running backs), great. We adapted to Derrick. There is only one Derrick Henry. It’s like having Shaquille O’Neal in his prime, you have to feed the big fella. We did that in Tennessee, but every year is different.”
2019-Tennessee Offense (NFL rankings-10th pts, 3rd rushing yds, 21st passing yds)
· Over 20 points-12 times, 6 times 30+ pts (43 pts. v Browns)
· Over 400 yards-6 times (552 yards at Oakland)
· Passing-Ryan Tannehill 10 starts, 70% completion, 2742 yards, 22 TD, 6 INT, 117.5 rating, Marcus Mariota 6 starts, 59% completion, 1203 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 92.3 rating
· Rushing-Derrick Henry 1540 yards, 16 TD, 102.7 yards/game
· Receiving-WR AJ Brown 52-1051 yards, 8 TD, WR Corey Davis 43-601 yards, 2 TD
2020-Tennessee Offense (NFL ranking-2nd points, 2nd rushing yds, 23rd passing yds)
· Over 20 points-13 times, 10 times 30+ pts (46 pts v Detroit)
· Over 400 yards-9 times (607 yards v Houston)
· Passing-Ryan Tannehill-16 starts, 66% completion, 3819 yards, 33 TD, 7 INT, 106.5 rating
· Rushing-Derrick Henry 2027 yards, 17 TD, 126.7 yards/game
· Receiving-WR AJ Brown 70-1075 yards, 11 TD, WR Corey Davis 65-984 yards, 5 TD
2021-Atlanta Offense (NFL ranking-26th in points, 31st rushing yds, 16th passing yds)
· Over 20 points-9 times, 2 times 30+ pts (30pts v Wash & Miami)
· Over 400 yards-1 time, 450 yards vs. Jets
· Passing-Matt Ryan-17 starts, 67% completion, 3968 yards, 20 TD, 12 INT, 90.4 rating
· Rushing-Cordarrelle Patterson 618 yards, 6 TD, 38.6 yards/game, Mike Davis 503 yards, 3 TD, 29.6 yards/game
· Receiving-TE Kyle Pitts 68-1026 yards, TD, WR Russell Gage 66-770 yards, 4 TD
2022-Atlanta Offense (NFL ranking-15th in points, 3rd rushing yds, 31st passing yds)
· Over 20 points-9 times, 2 times 30+ pts (37 pts vs. Carolina)
· Over 400 yards-2 times (416 yards vs. New Orleans)
· Passing-Marcus Mariota-13 starts, 61% completion, 2219 yards, 15 TD, 9 INT, 88.2 rating
· Rushing-Tyler Allgeier 1035 yards, 3 TD, 64.7 yards/game, Cordarrelle Patterson 695 yards, 8 TD, 53.5 yards/game
· Receiving-WR Drake London 72-866 yards, 4 TD, Olamide Zaccheaus 40-533 yards, 3 TD
2023-Atlanta Offense (NFL ranking-26th points, 9th rushing yds, 22nd passing yds)
· Over 20 points (29 pts v Indy)-9 times, no times over 30 points
· Over 400 yards-6 times (447 yards vs. Houston)
· Passing-Desmond Ridder-13 starts, 64% completion, 2836 yds, 12 TD, 12 INT, 83.4 rating
· Rushing-Bijan Robinson 976yds, 4 TD, 57.4 yds/game, Tyler Allgeier 683yds, 4 TD, 40.2 yds/game
· Receiving-WR Drake London 69-905yds, 2 TD, TE Kyle Pitts 53-667yds, 3 TD