Arthur Smith ‘Dark Horse Candidate’ for New York Jets Head Coaching Job

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a name to keep an eye on for the New York Jets head coaching job.

Sep 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith observes warm ups before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The New York Jets have their work cut out for them this offseason with some major decisions to make.

Before they can figure out what direction to take the roster, they have to put a new regime in place first. Head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas were both fired during the season and will need to be replaced full-time.

Owner Woody Johnson should leave no stone unturned when it comes to filling those vacancies. He needs to find the right duo that will help turn around a franchise that has been a laughing stock essentially since he bought the team.

Jets fans would probably love to see one of the up-and-coming coordinators, such as Ben Johnson of the Detroit Lions, take the job. What he has done with their offense the last few years has been remarkable.

But, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN, it could be another offensive coordinator that emerges out of nowhere to take the job; Arthur Smith of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In a recent episode of his podcast Flight Deck, he went over some of the head coaching rumors swirling around the league. One of the interesting tidbits was that Smith is a dark-horse candidate and someone the team liked in 2021 before hiring Saleh.

“Another name to watch, he is kind of a dark horse candidate, Arthur Smith currently the Steelers offensive coordinator. He was one of the runner-ups to [Robert] Saleh in 2021,” Cimini said, as shared by Paul Andrew Esden Jr. on X.

Instead of landing in New York, the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator at the time was hired by the Atlanta Falcons to become their head coach. He lasted three seasons before being relieved of his duties, going 7-10 each campaign.

As Cimini noted, he was connected to the Jets again last offseason when Saleh was looking to shake up his offensive staff.

“Wouldn't it be ironic if the Jets hired him because we all know Saleh wanted to hire Smith last offseason to come in and oversee the offense & Nathaniel Hackett. That never really got seriously close to happening because he knew he was going to go to Pittsburgh.”

Landing with the Steelers has been great for Smith. They have one of the more efficient offenses in the NFL, finally matching the production of their stellar defense more consistently.

He deserves a lot of credit for adjusting the offense for each of his quarterbacks as well. In the early going with Justin Fields, it was a ground-heavy attack with designed runs for the physically gifted runner.

With Russell Wilson, the team still relies heavily on the rushing attack, but they are pushing the ball down the field more. His deep ball prowess remains as he regularly hooks up with his receivers for chunk gains.

Smith may not be a favorite right now, but he is someone the organization knows well from previous interviews and if they don’t want a first-time head coach, he comes with previous experience.

“He is an offensive guy & he's an interesting name. Clearly, this ownership is familiar with him. I'm not saying he is a frontrunner but he's just an interesting name,” Cimini said.