Steelers' Arthur Smith May Steal From Pittsburgh On His Way Out The Door To A New Coaching Job

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a position they aren't often in. One of the team's coordinators is garnering interest as a head coaching candidate. This never happens, as Head Coach Mike Tomlin having a nonexistent coaching tree is one of the major blemishes on his resume. Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith is already being requested to be interviewed by multiple teams with vacancies at head coach, and he has come out and said that the situation would have to be perfect for him to go after another head coaching job.

Both the New York Jets and Chicago Bears have already put in requests to interview Smith, but no word has been given on whether or not he will interview for the job after the season concludes. He was most recently a head coach in 2023 with the Atlanta Falcons, so there is a chance he wants to spend some more time in a lesser role while learning from Tomlin. Former NFL Head Coach Jon Gruden was on the Barstool Rundown on Monday morning, where he spoke about what it is like interviewing for one of these jobs.

"Well the hard part is you have coordinators getting interviewed," Gruden said. "Let’s use Brian Griese as an example. So when Brian Griese goes to the Jets to interview, the first question is, 'Hey Brian, who can you bring with you?' So you have got to say this will be my defensive coordinator, this will be my line coach, I'll call the plays. You better have an army of guys together. So a lot of times late in the season, you've got coaches on your staff that are on the phones trying to get 3 or 4 guys to be on their staff."

Brian Griese is currently with the San Francisco 49ers, but he is also a head coaching candidate. These candidates will be expected to have some idea of what their staff will look like when they go in for these interviews. Smith can begin interviewing for these vacancies virtually on Tuesday, and he can begin the actual interview process on January 20th as long as the Steelers have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Gruden has accepted three separate head coaching jobs in the NFL throughout his career, so it is fair to say he could be a trusted source on what to expect when it comes to these interviews. Organizations expect candidates to have some assistant coaches that they can bring with them, which means Smith may be looking around the current Steelers coaching staff for some options.

The first name that comes to mind would be Wide Receivers Coach Zach Azzanni. He has done a decent job during the 2024 season without a top-tier wide receiver room. Another interesting name is Quarterbacks Coach Tom Arth, who has had success with the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert as well as the current quarterback situation in Pittsburgh. The way the quarterback situation has been handled in Pittsburgh during the 2024 season was cited as a reason for the heavy interest in Smith, which also has a lot to do with Arth.

Steelers' Arthur Smith Could Easily Be Distracted By Coaching Cycle 

Gruden also mentioned how these candidates are often on the phones late during the season trying to recruit other guys around the league to potentially be on their new coaching staff. This can easily be a distracting ordeal. Smith hasn't said he is interested in any of the opportunities available, so it would be pure speculation to blame the offensive woes on Smith's mind being elsewhere, but it is an interesting thought.

Smith spent three seasons as the head coach in Atlanta, and his teams went 7-10 in each of his three seasons. Never once did he have decent quarterback play, which makes him an attractive, offensive-minded coaching candidate with quality experience. 

Do you think Smith could leave the Steelers after the 2024 season? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation