The Pittsburgh Steelers wanted change on offense in 2024. Mike Tomlin told reporters that at the end of the year press conference. Art Rooney II confirmed it was Tomlin’s change to make and that they were looking for someone with both previous coordinator and play-calling experience. After an exhaustive search that lasted almost two weeks and ended the day after Rooney publicly stated that Tomlin would make the decision, Pittsburgh hired Arthur Smith.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Arthur Smith as their next offensive coordinator.
In retrospect, the criteria must really have been who is willing to keep the majority of the current coaches and attempt to run an effective offense with Kenny Pickett or Mason Rudolph under center. It also brings into question why Smith would agree to try to rebuild his reputation with a bunch of Matt Canada retreads. If the Steelers' offense improves under Smith, he will have to do it without the benefit of picking his assistants.
The issue is not Smith, per se. He met the stated criteria, and there is no debating that his offense helped get the Tennessee Titans a 17-7 lead in the AFC Championship game. The Titans fell to Patrick Mahomes 35-24, but for a half, they were equal to the Kansas City Chiefs. The issue is that the Steelers did not do their due diligence. Smith was the first interview that met their prerequisites. Here is a list of candidates the Steelers could have at least interviewed before turning the keys over to the former Falcons head coach.
Klint Kubiak
The current San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator has a lot going for him. Klint Kubiak is the son of Gary Kubiak, who had a long career in the NFL as a player, coordinator, and head coach. Kubiak has served as an offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. He has also spent the last year as the passing game coordinator for one of the most balanced offenses in football under Kyle Shanahan.
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Former Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak.
The 49ers are playing in the Super Bowl. Teams can still interview Super Bowl assistants remotely with permission. Pittsburgh did not even request to talk to Kubiak, who was a popular name in fan circles. Part of that is name recognition, but based on the coaching staff remaining intact, Kubiak could have simply spurned the notion he would have to keep any current offensive assistants and been disqualified by Tomlin.
Eric Bieniemy
The Washington Commanders and former Kansas City Chiefs coordinator would have checked all the boxes. Eric Bieniemy is the closest the Steelers could have gotten to Andy Reid's offense without bringing in Reid himself. Bieniemy took the Commanders' job to prove he could call plays and, at times, was successful with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett as his quarterbacks. He also has a reputation for being a disciplinarian, which is something that Pittsburgh's young offense desperately needs.
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Eric Bieniemy formally of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Commanders have moved on from Ron Rivera and hired Dan Quinn as their new head coach. Bieniemy is in a tenuous position and is not guaranteed to remain on Quinn's staff for 2024. Simply allowing the situation to play out for another week could have delivered Bieniemy to the black and gold. However, there is virtually no chance that he would have accepted the position under the condition that he could not pick his own assistants.
Darrell Bevell
Super Bowl-winning coordinator, check. Offensive coordinator known for a run heavy offense and creative pass concepts, check. Interview for the vacant Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator job, no. Darrell Bevell is the quarterback coach and passing game coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under Mike McDaniel. He has produced top five offenses in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell was not considered a candidate by Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
Bevell is also an established quarterback guru. He has worked with Brett Favre, Russell Wilson, and Matthew Stafford. He has worked with Tua Tagovailoa for the last two seasons. Tagovailoa was at his career crossroads before McDaniel and Bevell arrived in Miami. It seems to have worked out pretty well for the team and the quarterback. Did the Steelers have interest in helping Pickett resurrect his career like Tagovailoa did? If so, why not ask Bevell to at least interview for the position?
There is no guarantee that if the Steelers had interviewed one or all of these candidates, Tomlin would have hired them. Smith might have been the most qualified of the four. Still, we will never know because instead of conducting a proper search for a new coordinator, it looks like the Steelers interviewed two candidates they had no intention of hiring and settled for Smith.
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Tomlin demonstrated once again that he is bad at evaluating coaching talent. If Smith is the most qualified for the job, it will be by accident because the Steelers didn't bother to search for the best coordinator. The Steelers chose the first guy to come along after Rooney informed Tomlin to select as he saw fit.
Well, they both got what they wanted. Rooney can now point to the hire to silence Tomlin defenders who believe the organization should pick his staff. If it doesn't work with Smith, this is 100 percent on the head coach. Tomlin got a new coordinator who agreed to make minimal changes and retain most of his staff. The Steelers will get the change they deserve after flubbing another coordinator search. Cross your fingers and hope Steeler Nation. Apparently, that is the new Steeler Way.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you steamed that the Steelers didn't interview more than one candidate? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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