Steelers Believed To Be Interested In Fantasy Football’s Worst Nightmare for OC
As the Pittsburgh Steelers begin their search for their next offensive coordinator, they seem to have cast a wide net.
The expected favorites for the job are more experienced names like Darrell Bevell, but the team has already scheduled a meeting Rams QB Coach Zac Robinson and is expected to meet with Kliff Kingsbury.
Now it seems they may be interested in one name that fantasy football fans won’t be too thrilled about.
According to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, there are more than seven teams that have shown serious interest in former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith for their offensive coordinator jobs.
93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi pointed out that with only eight offensive coordinator positions open, that likely means the Steelers are one of those teams.
Smith’s failure to utilize a lot of young talent with the Falcons could cause concern for any team that might be considering him.
A Lot of Wasted Weapons in Atlanta
There might not be a single coach across the league that fantasy football players have been more upset with than Arthur Smith over the last three seasons.
Hopes were high for Smith after he helped turn Ryan Tannehill into a Pro Bowler with the Titans.
Unfortunately, the Falcons’ offense was bad in his three seasons with the team despite the front office repeatedly trying to get him pieces to improve on that side of the ball.
When he took over as head coach, the team already had Matt Ryan and star receiver Calvin Ridley.
Then they added Kyle Pitts with the fourth pick in Smith’s first draft.
Ridley only ended up playing five games that year, but Pitts turned in a 1000-yard season as a rookie. Unfortunately, the Falcons couldn’t figure out how to use him in the red zone and he ended up with one touchdown on the year.
The team ended up 26th in scoring.
The following year, the Falcons lost Ridley to a suspension, but they added anothr talented receiver to replace him.
The made Drake London the first receiver off the board and the eighth overall pick in the 2022 draft.
In their first year together, the Falcons’ two young stars combined for just 100 catches and 1222 yards.
The biggest positive on the team was the running game. Tyler Allgeier put together a 1000-yaard season at running back as a rookie. Cordarelle Patterson chipped in 695 yards of his own and the Falcons began to resemble Smith’s Titans teams.
The offense was better, finishing 15th in scoring in 2022.
In 2023, the franchise made the obvious move for a coach who once had Derrick Henry run for 2000 yards in a season and was beginning to make the run game a big part of his team’s identity.
They selected Bijan Robinson eighth overall to give Smith a true bell cow back.
The Falcons had now used premium picks on offensive skill position players in three consecutive drafts. The offense had to finally be ready to succeed.
Robinson got 214 carries. That was four more than Allgeier, who was drafted in the fifth round, got in the previous season.
Robinson averaged just 57.4 rushing yards per game.
In a 2-point loss to the lowly Panthers in Week 15, Robinson only got 7 carries.
London got seven less targets in his second season and had four games with two catches or less.
Pitts averaged just over five targets per game.
The Falcons fell back to 26th in scoring and upset fantasy football players everywhere with their misuse of some of the league’s brightest prospects along the way.
London hasn’t finished a season as a top-30 wide receiver yet. Pitts has one year as a top-12 tight end
His misuse of three players that entered the league with such high expectations will have fans concerned about how he’d develop their team’s young players.
How Smith Might Fit With the Steelers
Now that we’ve gotten the negatives of Smith’s time with the Titans out of the way, let’s talk about how he might fit with the Steelers.
Hiring Smith probably wouldn’t be great for George Pickens and it might not fix Kenny Pickett, but he might help the offense find an identity.
When you can’t depend on your quarterback, what is the best way to try and get points? Run the ball as much as possible.
Smith did this in Tennessee and it worked for the Titans.
Najee Harris isn’t Derrick Henry, but that might not matter.
The Steelers have the league’s best defensive player. They have some solid pieces around him. They could make further developing that defense a priority in the draft and free agency.
Right now, Pickett is the worst starting QB in the AFC North. If he remains the team’s starter, they may need to find another way to win.
That may be consistent running and a stout defense.
Smith is a coordinator that would lean into that.
Smith really only fits with the Steelers if they’re planning to take their team in one very specific direction, but that still might be more of a fit than some other candidates.
