Behind the Steel Curtain
Less than 24 hours after the team’s latest embarrassing playoff exit, the Steelers find themselves at the dawn of a new era. After 19 years at the helm, Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This puts the organization in rarely explored territory. Think about this context: The Beatles broke up in April of 1970; this will only be the third head coaching search the team has conducted since then.
While I won’t pretend to have any inside sources on who Art Rooney II might be favoring for the job, we can certainly take a look at some of the names that have been floated in the coaching carousel and make some educated guesses.
Listen, I don’t like this any more than you do, but I’m trying to be thorough with this list. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has an interview scheduled with the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday, so there is at least some interest in NFL circles in giving Smith a second crack at a head coaching gig.
If Rooney were to name Smith his next head coach, it would clearly be a play at maintaining some semblance of continuity. While that would be the exact opposite of my priorities if I were in charge of the team — I’m all for as much change as the team can muster — Art Rooney has been fairly reluctant to rock the boat as owner.
Smith’s isn’t exactly anything I’d be dying to retain, but the Steelers finished 15th in points per game and 16th in EPA per play this season. Considering the lack of receiving talent on the team, and Aaron Rodgers’ propensity to live in the short, quick game, one could make the argument that Smith did fairly well with an unusual roster construction and quarterback limitations.
I am not making that argument, however. Smith was an improvement from former playcaller Matt Canada, but after leading three NFL offenses, Smith appears to be a coordinator who raises an offense’s floor but still has a relatively limited ceiling. We can argue about whether Tomlin, Smith, or Rodgers deserves the most blame for Pittsburgh’s anemic passing attack, but that’s losing the forest for the trees. Smith has led three NFL offenses in his career, and frustrating personnel utilization and spotty passing attacks were present for all three of the Titans, Falcons, and Steelers. Smith’s 2020 Titans team managed to finish fourth in PPG and third in EPA/play, but he’s never come close to those heights again in his five other seasons as a playcaller.
I expect the Steelers to conduct their due diligence and give Smith an interview, but I would be extremely opposed to retaining him.
Somewhere, in an alternate reality, the Steelers faced the music a year sooner and accepted the Chicago Bears’ trade offer for Mike Tomlin in January 2025. In that dimension, perhaps they were able to convince offensive guru...
