Since North Carolina fired Mack Brown on Tuesday, Arthur Smith emerged as an early favorite to fill the vacant head coaching position. Smith, a 2006 alum of the school, has since confirmed his interest but remains committed to his current job as the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator for the time being.
In the days since Brown's firing, Smith has taken a preliminary call from the Tar Heels for the position, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. However, Pryor noted that Smith made a point to make it clear that he is content in Pittsburgh and has kept his current focus on the remainder of the 2024 season.
If Smith eventually takes the open North Carolina job, it would be his second head coaching position and first at the collegiate level. He was infamously the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 to 2023, finishing with a 7-10 record in all three years. After his firing, he returned to his previous occupation as an offensive coordinator, where he has since flourished with the Steelers under Mike Tomlin.
A hypothetical return to North Carolina would complete an 18-year full circle for Smith. The 42-year-old spent his four years as a guard for then-head coach John Bunting but would seldom see the field. After receiving his degree in 2006, Smith put his playing days in the past and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Bunting.
Steelers offensive numbers under Arthur Smith
Head coaching in the NFL evidently did not work out for Smith, but that has not changed his success as an offensive coordinator. Since signing with Pittsburgh in 2024, Smith has turned the previously dysfunctional Steelers offense into one of the most efficient in the league, leading to an 8-3 record through 12 weeks.
Under Smith, the Steelers have averaged 328 yards per game in 2024, a slight increase from their 304 yards per game mark in 2023. Where Smith has been the most impactful is in the professional development of quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson along with running back Najee Harris; all of whom have experienced significant leaps in performance.
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In his six starts, Fields has posted a 93.3 passer rating which would be the best of his career should it stand by the end of the season. Similarly, Wilson's current 98.6 rating in his five starts since returning from injury is his best mark since his last year with the Seattle Seahawks in 2021.
Likewise, Harris is on track to match the numbers he posted from his rookie year when he notched a career-high 1,200 rushing yards and 467 receiving yards. His efficiency is still down — averaging 3.9 yards per carry — but Harris is currently 13th in the league with 749 rushing yards.
Should he land back in Chapel Hill, Smith's offensive effectiveness would be a welcome sight for a team that has continued to regress over the past five years under Brown. The Tar Heels have progressively performed worse in each offensive category almost every year from 2020 to 2024.
