After falling to the Bills in the Wild Card game, the Steelers have hired a new Offensive Coordinator, Arthur Smith. He was Head Coach of the Falcons from 2021-23 and he spent time as the Titans OC for one year.

First, there are some negatives with Smith. He has never had a good quarterback as a head coach or OC. The best he’s had was either old man Matt Ryan or Ryan Tannehill. He’s also been known to forget about some of his stars on the field. If you could find a Falcons fan, they would say Smith never really used rookie running back Bijan Robinson, or Kyle Pitts.

During his tenure as head coach, Smith’s offense failed to perform at a high level. In both 2021 and 2022, the team’s offense was ranked 22nd and 16th in the league, respectively, with yardage gained being 20th and 13th. Although the Falcons were not the most talented team, they could have achieved better results with improved play-calling.

But during his time on the Titans staff, Smith also had some flashes of potential. In three years in the position, in 2019, 2020, and 2022, they were ranked 10th, 3rd, and 9th in touchdowns scored in the NFL. The Steelers could use his scoring touch for a team that has struggled to put the ball in the endzone.

In those same years, they ranked 12th, 2nd, and 8th in yards gained. The Steelers have had a hard time moving the ball down the field. Smith also loves running the ball, and with the two-headed monster of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, the Steelers should be able to get more points on the board. Time will also tell who will be under center for the Black and Gold, right now, all signs point to Kenny Pickett, if Smith can fix him the Steelers could go far in 2024.