While the NFL world was focused on Sunday’s AFC Championship between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, the Pittsburgh Steelers took that time to make a big announcement.
That announcement? They interviewed former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith for their vacant offensive coordinator position.
Pittsburgh made the announcement on its X account Sunday afternoon.
Smith coached the Falcons for the past three seasons, going 7-10 in each of the three before being first coach fired earlier this month. Atlanta went on to hire Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator and former interim coach Raheem Morris.
Smith was frequently criticized in Atlanta for how the Falcons’ offense never quite seemed to be as good as it should despite having plenty of impact players like running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts, and wide receiver Drake London. He was the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans from 2019-20, so this would be a return to a familiar role for Smith.
Pittsburgh’s offense has had no shortage of struggles of its own over the past couple of seasons, featuring a revolving door of quarterbacks from Kenny Pickett to Mitchell Trubisky to Mason Rudolph.
Fans had a lot to say about the news that Pittsburgh interviewed Smith, with most reactions coming in the form of jokes or otherwise bewilderment.
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