Falcons Ex Arthur Smith Drew Surprising Interest Before Signing With Steelers

After being fired as the Falcons' head coach, Arthur Smith has moved on to become the offensive coordinator for the Steelers.

Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith has signed a deal to become the Pittsburgh Steelers' next offensive coordinator, but the alleged amount of interest is somewhat surprising.

"Contract is being finalized as we speak," Ian Rapoport said. "For Arthur Smith, he had a lot of opportunity. He was going to be an OC somewhere. Culturally, this makes a lot of sense. The fact the Steelers are who they are as an organization. An organization who really does it right. One of the model franchises in the NFL."

Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith has agreed to be Mike Tomlin's next offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers / USA Today

The Falcons cut ties with Smith after three straight 7-10 seasons. During that time, his reputation as an offensive mind took a major hit.

However, from 2019-2020, Smith enjoyed tremendous success with the Tennessee Titans as the team’s offensive coordinator. Superstar running back Derrick Henry thrived with Smith as his play-caller, and the offense finished in the top 10 overall during both his seasons.

Unfortunately, Smith wouldn’t find the same success in Atlanta. Instead, his tenure with the team will be better remembered for how he didn’t utilize his top talents.

After spending multiple early first-round picks on skill position players tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London, and running back Bijan Robinson, the expectation was that the offense would be funneled through them, but it seems like they were used as decoys as far too often.

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Now that Smith is working under highly successful head coach Mike Tomlin and will be able to focus on just the offense again, perhaps he can find his mojo again as a coordinator in Pittsburgh, replacing Matt Canada.

Whether Smith is still an offensive guru or not remains to be seen, but the Falcons will be flying on without him in 2024 as newly hired head coach Raheem Morris attempts to make the playoffs, something Smith failed to accomplish during his tenure in Atlanta.