A lot of questions have to be answered this offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense. With the cloud of unknown surrounding the quarterback situation and the concern with the weapons going into next season, Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith might be sweating a bit this summer and it isn't from the heat. Smith is facing a bit of backlash from fans with the offense's collapse at the end of the season. With rumors swirling about him and Russell Wilson butting heads, it just adds to the endless drama that the Steelers had and continue to endure from the 2024 season. Some fans already want Smith out of the building, but former Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thinks it could be more of a personnel issue rather than coordinator issue.
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Steelers' Arthur Smith looks on during a game with Pittsburgh.
On the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, Roethlisberger talked about how it doesn't matter how good of an offensive coordinator someone can be, if you do not have the personnel that can execute plays, then you get what happened to the Steelers in their last five weeks of the season.
"You can be a great offensive coordinator, great scheme, great plays, great everything," said Roethlisberger. "If you don't have personnel that can execute your plays, then you're not going to be great and vice versa. You can have great players that can make a coordinator look great."
Roethlisberger believes there has to be trust between the personnel on the field and the coordinator. That's what made him so dangerous in the past, he was able to execute the Steelers' game plan and had the trust of his coaches. He urges the Steelers not to go one and done with Smith, they have to take time to figure things out and not abandon ship when things do not go their way.
"If I were to go be a coordinator, which I'm not, I can call plays in this, that, and the other, but one of the reasons that I was good at calling plays on my own plays when we were doing no huddles because I was actually executing it as well," said Roethlisberger. "So you have to trust that guy is going to see the field, see the plays the same way that you're seeing it as a coach. Arthur Smith might be a great coordinator, but guys aren't executing it. Whether line aren't blocking it, guys aren't running the right route, the quarterback is not seeing it, whether it is we don't know, so could he be a great coordinator that just didn't have personnel or maybe he's not and the players were making them look good. There's so many what ifs and so you just kind of have to take it with a grain of salt, but you figure those things out by multiple years. You can't be one and done like you just don't know."
Smith came into the Steelers' organization with head coaching experience and past success as an offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. The beginning of the season, there was hope that the offense was actually going to pull their own weight through 2024, unlike it has in the past under the watch of Matt Canada. Unfortunately, things fell apart in the last five weeks of the season. The Steelers failed to score than 17 points in each remaining game and would shoot themselves in the foot early in contests.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada at Heinz Field during the Steelers 2020 Training Camp, Thursday, July 30, 2020 in Pittsburgh, PA.
While the end of the season brought back memories of the last few seasons under Canada, Roethlisberger believes that the Steelers should continue with Smith. Add quality personnel for him to coach, then fans can grade Smith's scheme and play-calling from there. Smith is hoping the Steelers can add a weapon to pair with George Pickens and a quarterback that he can trust on the field in the next few months.
Steelers Fans Should Wait And See If Smith Is Truly A Problem
The Steelers have more problems than they would like to admit. They need this offseason to go their way with each signing and draft pick. It seems that Omar Khan is ready to right his wrong when it comes to the wide receiver room, a room that had Van Jefferson, Mike Williams, and Calvin Austin III battling out for the wide receiver two spot.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers celebrate after Van Jefferson catches a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson in Acrisure Stadium in 2024.
Khan will have to do everything in his power to set up Smith for the 2025 season and make sure he gives him the weapons and a quarterback that he can trust on the field fully.
Do you think it's unfair to grade Smith's first year in Pittsburgh with what the offense consisted of? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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