Steelers Now
Fred Smith, the father of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the founder of FedEx, died on Saturday at the age of 80.
My statement on the passing of Fred Smith. His legacy will continue to move Memphis, and the world, forward. pic.twitter.com/tivcd21ssN
— Paul Young (@mayorpaulyoung) June 22, 2025
Smith was a native of Memphis, Tennessee — Arthur Smith’s birthplace. After serving three years in the Marine Corps, he entered the Aaviation sales business. From there, he founded FedEx.
Similar to the Steelers’ founding by Art “The Chief” Rooney, Smith took a gamble and paid off big time. He took the last $5K he had and turned it into a $27K win. With that, he kept FedEx alive–a turning point for the business.
Despite his father’s major influence, Arthur Smith took pride in forging his own path. Though his father’s influence helped him start with the Washington Commanders, he had to prove his worth.
“We all have connections that help you, but with my dad’s involvement up there, and playing in FedEx Field, I just felt like when you’re the quality control, it’s fine,” Arthur Smith told ESPN in 2021. “You’re at the entry level, and they’re hard jobs to get and I was lucky to be in that, but to legitimately move up I knew I had to get away.
Smith used his drive to move up in the coaching ranks, landing a head coaching job in 2021 with the Atlanta Falcons.
“You care about [Smith’s] humility, hard work, leadership, players love him, very creative, produced at a high level.” Falcons owner Arthur Blank told ESPN.
Though he chose a different career path, Smith is in a high-pressure business like his father was. It may not be packages, but he is responsible for an offensive unit that is expected to deliver on Sundays.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Fred Smith, Father of Steelers Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith, Dies at 80
