Detroit Lions OC Candidate: Exploring pros and cons of Steelers OC Arthur Smith
This is our seventh piece in what will be an ongoing series, evaluating the pros and cons of the offensive coordinator candidates connected to the Detroit Lions’ vacancy.
Who: Arthur Smith
Age: 43
Background and coaching history
A reserve offensive lineman at the University of North Carolina between 2001 25, Smith was teammates there with former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Following graduation, Smith quickly transitioned into coaching, assisting with the offensive line under coach John Bunting.
"When we recruited Arthur, we knew he was a tough, hard-nosed kid who loves to play football," Bunting said in 2004. "Someday, I think he could be a great coach. He loves the intangibles about the game, loves the teamwork and has a great passion for the game.”
With the help of his father, FexEx founder and minority owner of Washington’s NFL team, Smith got his foot in the door as a low-level assistant on Joe Gibbs’ staff.
Wanting to strike out on his own, freeing himself from perceptions of nepotism, Smith briefly returned to the college ranks after two years, spending a season at Ole Miss before Titans coach Mike Munchak hired Smith as a quality control coach in 2011.
Starting on the defensive side in Tennessee, Smith flipped to the offense after one year and took control of the team’s offensive line in 2013, before shifting to working with the tight ends the next five seasons.
Impressively, Smith survived four head coaching changes. And in his second season under Mike Vrabel, following the departure of Matt LaFleur to become Green Bay’s coach, Smith was promoted to offensive coordinator.
After two highly successful seasons as the primary play-caller, including orchestrating a top-five offense in 2020, Smith was hired to be the Atlanta Falcons head coach.
Despite retaining play-calling responsibilities, Smith proved unable to recreate anything close to that offensive success he had in Tennessee with the Falcons, producing a trio of 7-10 seasons prior to being relieved of his duties.
After the firing, Smith was hired by Mike Tomlin to be Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator, replacing Matt Canada. Taking over a unit that finished 26th and 28th in scoring the previous two seasons, Smith managed to elevate the group to the middle of the pack while working with aging veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
Why he’d be a fit
Starting with his work with the tight ends in Tennessee, Smith got impressive results out of a non-household name, Delanie Walker.
A sixth-round pick in 2006, Walker never had more than 30 catches in seven seasons with the 49ers. However, he went to three Pro Bowls while working directly with Smith, averaging 78 receptions for nearly 900 yards during that stretch.
“I was impressed throughout the season in gameplan meetings with his ideas, in-game with his understanding of situations and the ability to get the most out of his position group,” Vrabel said when he promoted Smith to offensive coordinator.