The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled to find and retain a solid offensive coordinator over the past several seasons. After Randy Fichtner failed to find any success, the team promoted Matt Canada, who had been the quarterbacks coach for only a year. He was finally fired in November of 2023 after the Steelers suffered an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Browns. With Arthur Smith in his first season as the new coordinator, things seem to be improving. However, fans and the media are still unsatisfied and wonder if the problem has been with Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
It is no secret that Tomlin has a lot of control over what happens with the team. While the ultimate decision always rests with the owner, Art Rooney II, the Rooneys have always put a lot of trust in their coaches. Considering that he has been above .500 overall since arriving in the Steel City, most agree that the decision is wise. Tomlin was an outstanding defensive coordinator before Pittsburgh with the Minnesota Vikings. He also helped Head Coach Jon Gruden win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive backs coach. Since his area of expertise is defense, most believe he should be fairly hands-off with the running of the offense, but it doesn't sound like that's always the case.
When Fichtner and Canada struggled, there were many concerns that Tomlin was pulling the strings behind the scenes, which was part of the problem. Smith was an outstanding offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans and became a head coach for the Atlanta Falcons.
However, the question of Tomlin's involvement has come up again in light of some of the recent offensive difficulties. In his Kaboly's Steelers Mailbag column, Mark Kaboly from The Pat McAfee Show was asked if Tomlin has more of a hand in the offense than fans think. The fan who wrote in said he sees many bad similarities between Fichtner, Canada, and Smith.
"If you ask him, he will say that he has a hand in everything because he's the head coach," posted Kaboly. "Take that for what it's worth. My opinion, Tomlin had much more to do with the offense with Canada and Fichtner. I truly believe he's hands off with Arthur Smith, for the most part. This is the best offensive staff he's had with Smith, Tom Arth, Zach Azzanni, Mike Sullivan and Eddie Faulkner. That's three current or previous offensive coordinators and one up-and-comer in Azzanni, so I think Tomlin lets them do what they want to do... under a watchful eye, of course."
This isn't the first time this concern has been raised. Early this season, the offense struggled with Justin Fields under center. It was an immediate concern when the Steelers won the game against the Falcons by kicking six field goals. Many local insiders felt that with Russell Wilson sidelined with a calf injury, Tomlin told Smith to play a very conservative game. He was concerned about throws over the middle of the field and possible interceptions, so instead, they went with short, safe passes to the side and run plays.
While there are still questions about some of the decision-making and play-calling, the offense has improved since Wilson began to play. Smith and Tomlin allow him more opportunities to run creative plays.
Steelers' Arthur Smith Confused Many With Loss To The Browns
Smith has been better than Fichtner or Canada, but that doesn't mean he is without criticism. Questions about the play-calling bubbled to the surface after the Steelers lost to the Browns in Week 12.
He was criticized for failing to use some of his biggest playmakers like Pat Freiermuth and Mike Williams. While Williams has only played three games in Pittsburgh, he stepped in for Calvin Austin III and scored a touchdown in his first game.
There were also questions about the personnel he chose to use, such as Connor Heyward, MyCole Pruitt, and Cordarrelle Patterson, who doesn't appear 100% healthy. The comments were that they ''aren't threatening anyone."
