Entering his second season as the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith has had to adjust on the fly as the club's personnel on that side of the ball has churned.
The offseason saw major moves: acquiring DK Metcalf, sending George Pickens to Dallas, overhauling the quarterback room before Aaron Rodgers signed in June, letting Najee Harris leave and drafting Kaleb Johnson, losing Dan Moore Jr., and trading for Jonnu Smith.
As the pieces came and went, Arthur Smith tweaked his plans, determining what each does best and how to fit them all together. The former Atlanta Falcons head coach credited his late father, FedEx founder Fred Smith, with passing on the ability to modify on the fly.
"I've had to adapt," Smith said over the weekend, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I give my old man a lot of credit, being an ex-Marine and adapting to situational awareness and always evolving. That's what we've done every year. Things we did from year to year, you played to your strengths and try to fit the strengths to your team. Necessity forces you to adapt."
Since he became a regular play-caller in 2019, Smith's offenses have been all over the board. In Tennessee, the 2020 Titans boasted a top-five offense, leaning heavily on the ground game and an opportunistic passing attack. In three years in Atlanta, his groups were mediocre, never ranking inside the top 15 in points or yards. Last year in Pittsburgh, the Russell Wilson-led operation was inefficient and lacked explosives.
The late additions of Rodgers and Jonnu Smith give the Steelers the ability to be diverse. The OC has garnered praise from Rodgers for that adaptability.
"I like his flexibility," Rodgers said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Arthur is not rigid in what he's doing. He wants to tailor the scheme to the personnel that he's got. … We're trying to find what guys do best and implement that into the offense. I love that about Arthur, so we're going to keep doing that."
Smith has received criticism in the past for his personnel usage, particularly during his time in Atlanta. With two pass-catching tight ends, a new explosive weapon in Metcalf, and a revamped backfield, how Smith will juggle the personnel while molding the offense to fit a 41-year-old QB will be an interesting aspect to track through the preseason and early in the regular season.
