Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator is well-aware of the pressure that head coach Mike Tomin is dealing with right now. He was in the same position when he was the Atlanta Falcons head coach, which ultimately ended in him being fired after three straight 7-10 seasons.
With the Steelers losing 23-7 in the third quarter to the Buffalo Bills, “Fire Tomlin” chants erupted from the crowd at Acrisure Stadium.
“I’ve been in situations personally myself. This isn’t a business for the meek, especially mentally,” Smith said on Thursday. “I roll my eyes when people act like a victim. Our job is to win. You step into the arena, that’s part of the job, whether you like it or not. We’re in the sports entertainment business. It’s a high-pressure, high-performance business. Our job is to produce.”
Smith got heat from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger earlier this week. Roethlisberger thinks the offense looks no different than the Matt Canada years.
“We’ve had different offensive coordinators, different defensive coordinators, but it’s kind of been the same story. This looks a lot like Matt Canada’s offense,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast.
Roethlisberger also doesn’t understand Smith’s usage of tight end Pat Freiermuth. Freiermuth played only 17 snaps and wasn’t targeted in Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Smith has been utilizing Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith over Freiermuth. Jonnu Smith has a history with Arthur Smith, as he played for him in Tennessee and Atlanta.
“It seems like if you’re not an Arthur Smith guy, you’re left behind. It seems like he doesn’t like Pat Freiermuth, obviously,” Roethlisberger said. “He didn’t get one ball thrown his way. You pay Pat Freiermuth a lot of money. Use him! You paid a guy $150 million in DK Metcalf. Why does he have the same amount of catches as Kenneth Gainwell? Is that Aaron Rodgers, or is that the scheme? It seems like it’s a lot of scheme.”
Freiermuth spoke with the media on Wednesday about his 17 snaps against Buffalo. The fifth-year tight end is understandably frustrated, but he’s going to keep his head down and continue to work.
“Obviously it’s frustrating but at the end of the day I have complete faith in Arthur … Just got to be able to understand my role and hopefully it changes going forward‚” Freiermuth said. “Just got to be able to go out there and do what’s asked of me.”
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers OC Arthur Smith Responds to Criticism: ‘This Isn’t a Business for the Meek’
