Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has completed the first of two interviews for vacant NFL head coaching jobs.
The Chicago Bears announced Wednesday afternoon that they have finished up an interview with Smith.
The Bears have also interviewed Broncos executive David Shaw, interim Bears Head Coach Thomas Brown, former Washington Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive coordinator Benjamin Johnson, New York Giants Assistant Head Coach Michael Kafka, former Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll and more.
Smith is expected to interview for the New York Jets coaching job on Thursday.
Smith has been the Pittsburgh Steelers OC for one season after he was fired as the Atlanta Falcons Head Coach after the end of the 2023 season.
Smith was the head coach of the Falcons from 2021 to 2023.
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.
Smith’s offense in Pittsburgh was encouraging through most of the season, but over the last month of the season, struggled to get anything going.