Kozora: The Worm’s Turned On Arthur Smith (And Why I’m Not Jumping Ship)

What a difference two weeks make. Heading into the Baltimore Ravens’ game, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith received good marks across the board. Not great marks but the fanbase appreciated the job he was doing to a jump-start a dormant Steelers’ offense.

Now, the pitchforks are here to run him out of town. Two lackluster performances against the Ravens and Cleveland Browns have large chunks of the Steelers’ Nation ready to try again with their third coordinator in as many years. When news broke yesterday of Smith reportedly being open to the North Carolina head coaching job, the universal response on my Twitter timeline was “we’ll help you pack.”

To steal the Shakespeare phrase, the worm has turned. Smith has seemingly worn out his welcome or at least, the honeymoon phase is long gone. He hasn’t reached Matt Canada levels of loathing, his name hasn’t been plastered on any College Gameday signs – yet – but the dissatisfaction is clear.

I’m not in that camp. And I’ve been critical of Smith the past two weeks for underwhelming to poor game plans. I took a comprehensive review of his scheme against the Cleveland Browns and came away disappointed, especially with the team’s run plan. Too similar, too repetitive, too often leaning into exactly what wasn’t working. Short weeks makes things tough but that’s what separates the good from bad coaches.

Still, don’t be so quick to cast him overboard. Overall, he’s brought positive change to the Steelers’ offense. From a baseline productivity standpoint, Pittsburgh is better. Much better. Nearly six-points per game worth of improvement from a season ago. An average-scoring offense that got the Steelers out of the basement Matt Canada had them in, oscillating between 17 and 18 points per season under his helm.

Improved quarterback play is one factor that’s helped Smith. But Russell Wilson is averaging more points per game in five starts with Pittsburgh (25.6) than he did in 15 starts with the Denver Broncos under known offensive guru Sean Payton in 2023 (21.8) or in 2022 (16.9). Some of that production came up on the lowly New York Jets and Giants but their defenses are far better than their offenses. The Jets and Giants are middle-of-the-road in scoring defense and Wilson had lots of success against them.

Overall, Smith’s created sound schemes for Justin Fields and Wilson. Managing Fields to prevent him from falling back on old Chicago habits and opening things up more for Wilson, getting more out of him than the Broncos could in two seasons. Largely, he’s playing to his player’s strengths, and that’s the ultimate mark of a good coach. He’s elevating the talent of Wilson, of WR Calvin Austin III, of TE Darnell Washington to name a few.

First drive production remains a problem under Arthur Smith like it did under Matt Canada. Pittsburgh isn’t finding the end zone but they’re at least finding points, six fields on opening possessions this year. It’s better than the three-and-out punts Canada became infamous for. Red zone scoring is an eyesore and Smith must improve there but there’s also been some bad luck. A questionable penalty against Denver in Week 2, lots of small issues against the Giants in Week 8. Things that Smith can’t be blamed for.

Overall, this offense has been better. The running game still sputters but it did get off to a quicker start despite an offensive line in major flux for the first six weeks. The scheme is sounder, smarter, all while juggling two quarterbacks, two rookie linemen, a bunch of injuries, and front office that could only pluck Mike Williams after missing out on every big name receiver on the block.

The point is this. You don’t have to show faith but have patience. At least a little. Arthur Smith has run successful NFL offenses before and has shown flashes of that in Pittsburgh. Let’s see if he can work out of this slump he and the offense are in. Every loss seems to bring the same storylines. George Pickens is a locker room problem. Najee Harris was a bad draft pick. Fire the coordinator. The yo-yo of the season is exhausting. Take the season in totality and see how this team responds and performs by the end of January. At least by then, we’ll have all the information 2024 and early 2025 can offer.

NFL seasons are hard. Rarely is it up-up-up for 17 games. These seasons are roller coasters for a reasons with their ups and downs, ebbs and flows, challenges that must be answered. With a tough schedule, nothing gets easier for Pittsburgh, but I’m not throwing in the towel. Not on Smith, not on the Steelers, and not on this season. Not yet, anyway.