Steelers Predicted to Lose OC to Jets
PITTSBURGH -- After the Pittsburgh Steelers finished their routine loss in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, there is lots of speculation around which players and coaches will make their return and who will find a new home. It's credibly reported that head coach Mike Tomlin will return as the head coach as the Steelers next season. Therefore, the next level of coaches is much more likely to change. Specifically, first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a name often thrown into the coaching carousel.
Dan Graziano, a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, made predictions for the six teams, the Bears, Cowboys, Jaguars, Jets, Raiders, and Saints, that have a head coaching vacancy.
Graziano made his predictions in alphabetical order and did not predict the same candidate to land multiple jobs. Aaron Glenn, the Lions defensive coordinator, was predicted to land the Saints' head coaching job and Brian Flores, the Vikings defensive coordinator, was predicted to land the Bears' head coaching job.
Graziano admits he, "could certainly see the Jets ending up with Aaron Glenn or Brian Flores," but as they've already found homes for the Saints and Bears respectively, Graziano predicts Smith to land the Jets' head coaching gig.
The Jets are also interviewing possible GM candidates and asking those candidates about their head coach preferences. Of course, the Jets are also asking their head coach interviewees about potential GMs.
And there's a lot of known candidates for the head coaching position. Outside of Glenn, Flores, and Smith, the Jets are also interested in Brian Griese, Bobby Slowik, Darren Rizzi, Jeff Ulbrich, Joe Brady, Josh McCown, Matt Nagy, Mike Locksley, Rex Ryan, Ron Rivera, Steve Spagnuolo, and Vance Jospeh.
Graziano's logic for picking Smith is simple--hiring Smith would be a part of a pattern from Jets owner Woody Johnson.
"In the past, Johnson has been known to lock in a bit on his personal favorites," Graziano wrote. "Remember, he lost out to the Dolphins on Adam Gase in 2016, then hired Gase three years later after the Dolphins fired him."
It's credibly reported that Smith received made it through the first round of interviews with the Jets in 2021, but the Jets hired Robert Saleh and the Falcons hired Smith before he completed the second interview.
"Smith was a candidate of interest to Johnson back in 2021, when the team hired Saleh," Graziano said. "But at the time, Johnson was serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom and was not directly involved in the search. The Jets also considered bringing in Smith and adding him to their offensive staff last year before the Steelers hired him as their coordinator."
Smith's fit on the Jets makes sense. Often, teams that fire their head coach mid-season are looking for a major shakeup. As Greg Olsen put it, "I call it the Ping-Pong Table Rule... When a new head coach takes over a team, if there's a ping-pong table int he locker room, it gets taken away... You just swing the pendulum... Well, organizations are kinda the same way."
Teams often search for change just for the sake of change. As Saleh was previously a defensive coordinator and Ulbrich, the Jets interim head coach who finished out the season, was also a defensive coordinator, its likely the Jets are aiming for an offensive guy--a description Smith fits.
The Jets also roster some very interesting offensive players a new, offensive head coach could scheme with. Wide receivers Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson are one of the best duos in the league. Running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen have shown lots of promise. With quarterback Aaron Rodgers possibly retiring or not good enough to start next season, a new coach could have a clean slate at quarterback.
"There's a ton still to be figured out here. But with limited information about who might be the front-runner at this point, I'll take Smith," Graziano wrote. "For most of this season, [Smith] found a way to make some pretty effective chicken salad out of a not-great QB situation in Pittsburgh."
It's still early in the offseason for the Smith, the Steelers, and all the teams with head coaching vacancies. The Steelers will have to wait and see if Smith accepts a new job. Until then, Smith to the Jets is a possibility that makes sense.