Last we saw Arthur Smith, his Steelers offense was running through Detroit's defense to all but knock the Lions out of the playoff race. Next we see him, the Lions' offense could be his.
The Lions have requested to interview Smith for their offensive coordinator position, per NFL Network, with Smith likely on his way out in Pittsburgh with the departure of head coach Mike Tomlin. It sounds like the Lions will have competition, with Smith "still in the mix for multiple" head coaching jobs and generating "significant coordinator interest" around the league.
Smith, 43, has a long track record of calling plays in the NFL. Before his two seasons as offensive coordinator of the Steelers, he was the Falcons' head coach and offensive play-caller for three seasons, and offensive coordinator of the Titans for two seasons before that.
His best work came in Tennessee, where he turned an offense quarterbacked by Ryan Tannehill into one of the top units in the NFL, which is what launched him into the head coaching job in Atlanta. His offense with the Titans was built around running back Derrick Henry.
Smith didn't have nearly as much success with the Falcons, who went 7-10 in each of his three seasons at the helm and never had an offense that ranked in the top half of the league. Of course, his quarterbacks weren't great either, from an aging Matt Ryan to Marcus Mariota to Desmond Ridder.
The Falcons did have a top-10 rushing attack in each of Smith's final two seasons, while ranking first in the league in carries in 2022 and third in 2023. That likely stands out to Dan Campbell, who wants to re-establish Detroit's ground game after a down year in 2025.
Smith was similarly hamstrung by limited quarterbacks in Pittsburgh, with the combo of declining Russell Wilson and Justin Fields last season and well-past-his-prime Aaron Rodgers this season. But the Steelers also struggled to run the ball in 2025, despite their outburst in Detroit last month, finishing 26th in rushing yards and 28th in attempts.
They scored just six points and mustered 175 yards of offense in their playoff loss to the Texans on Monday that ended Tomlin's tenure (and quite possibly Rodgers' career) and essentially made Smith a free agent.