Does Arthur Smith hiring signal a "new Steelers way?"

With the Super Bowl and the playoffs out of the way, every team is now counting down to week one. A team that is in limbo right now is the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's a team with so many weapons on the offense, but it has many QB questions. Stick it with Pickett, sign a veteran QB, or get someone in the draft? But Pittsburgh has had many twists and turns lately with players and staff alike, and fans wonder, has there been a culture change in Pittsburgh? But it all leads back to one move in particular—Matt Canada's firing.

After an offensive struggle of a game versus the Browns in week eleven, the Steelers, to much fanfare, fired Matt Canada. The last time the Steelers made a coach/coordinator change was in 1941. The first game without Canada? It was the first 400-yard game for the Steelers offense since 2020. A lot of this speculation, for it is all Canada's fault for the offense's woes, went away after three straight losses to inferior teams, but also keep in mind Mitchell Trubisky was starting. After he was benched, the Steelers won out the rest of the season. Canada wasn't the entire problem, but he was a big part. It was also clear Trubisky shouldn't have been starting; it should've been Rudolph, as he got the offense into two straight games with 30+ points.

The Steelers would make the playoffs as the seventh seed but be convincingly ousted by the Bills. The fans weren't happy, but what surprised them was how unhappy it made Steelers owner Art Rooney II. Rooney acknowledged the elephant in the room while the Steelers have been able to win but not in the playoffs, with their last playoff win being in 2017 against the Chiefs. Since then, Tomlin has been one-and-done in the playoffs with losses to the Jaguars, Browns, Chiefs, and now, the Bills. A very revealing thing to Rooney was the QB play compared to Pickett/Trubisky to Rudolph. When Rudolph was at the helm, the Steelers averaged 24.5 points a game, up from the previous 17.9. Seeing what steady QB play can do for the Steelers was revealing to Rooney, and while he still has hope for Pickett, he wants to see more competition at QB. There's hope he can bring Rudolph back at the helm with him entering free agency this season, but other options exist. Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, and more will enter the free agency market, warranting any last-minute contract deals with their current teams. But there is also an ongoing rumor that the Broncos may release Russell Wilson, arguably the best option at QB, if he enters free agency. An extensive experiment will be happening next season for the Steelers because Canada's firing and better QB play led to them looking like a solid team; the Steelers may be looking to do things they haven't done in years and look outside the organization. The Steelers want wins in the postseason, which shows with their recent hires.

The Steelers hired a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, but like every move, this came with much controversy. Smith was head coach for the Atlanta Falcons since 2021 before being fired and having an overall record of 21 wins and 30 losses. His time with Atlanta was seen as a failure, and some Steeler fans weren't happy with the hire. However, let's look at the silver lining for a second. Arthur Smith has been a part of the NFL for over a decade, so he has the experience that attracted Art Rooney enough to hire him. A notable part of his time was that he was the offensive coordinator for the Titans from 2019-2020. In those two years, Titans running back Derrick Henry had 3,567 yards rushing and 33 total rushing touchdowns. Henry has a similar play style to the Steelers starting running back, Najee Harris. The Titans had a great offense in the two years, leading to big playoff wins. They may want to sign QB Ryan Tannehill and reunite the two. There's a connection there! While it's understandable why fans are questioning the move, I still want to see where the offense goes from here. It couldn't possibly get worse.

There have also been other hires, like a new wide receiver's coach, Zach Azzanni. Zach has been coaching receivers for over two decades and has coached with Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy in Denver and Garrett Wilson in New York. Oh, and he also developed Antonio Brown when he was in college. Based on what past players for Azzanni have said, he's a demanding and no-nonsense coach. This hire could be significant for the Steelers' receiver room maturity-wise. Another hire was QB coach Tom Arth. He was the passing game specialist for the Chargers, with Justin Herbert mainly at the helm—two hires outside of the organization in Zach Azzanni and Tom Arth.

The Steelers are making hires, but who are they letting go? There's little going on for the staff in that category, but the players? That's a different story. The day after the Super Bowl, the Steelers were tired of hearing about Taylor Swift and needed to make moves to get people talking about something else. Three players were released: QB Mitch Trubisky, OT Chukwuma Okorafor, and P Pressley Harvin III. All three of these players had a struggling 2023, and they still had time left on their contracts, so it begs the question, is there a big move on the way? Those released give the Steelers an extra $13 million in cap, and you get a good pickup for $13 million, like a gallon of gas in today's economy. But anyway, fans were happy to see the moves as much as shocked that the Steelers responded to poor play, as the Steelers will usually take a while to react to poor play (i.e., Matt Canada, Gunner Olszewski, examples from just THIS YEAR).

With Harvin gone, the Steelers are now punter-less. Will the Steelers sign a punter off free agency? Some solid names include Tommy Townsend, Jake Bailey, and Thomas Morstead. And with Chukwuma gone, too, will the Steelers try their luck two years in a row at drafting an offensive tackle in the draft? With the 20th overall pick, the best ones are likely already gone, but there are still good options like JC Latham (Alabama), Amarius Mims (Georgia), or Jordan Morgan (Arizona). Or will they stick with Dan Moore? And finally, with Trubisky gone and Mason Rudolph going into free agency, it's likely the Steelers will sign a free-agent QB, but the draft also has some talent. And is there a chance Caleb Williams falls to the Steelers? None whatsoever. Nor will the Steelers draft a QB with their 20th overall pick, with other positions needing help at secondary and offensive linemen. They could draft the national championship-winning quarterback in JJ McCarthy. Or Michael Pratt or Michael Penix could fall to them. There are many options for the Steelers, but the fans are playing cornerback right now. They're wondering what route they think the Steelers will take.

What can happen in just a few weeks with an organization is as surprising as interesting. Mike Tomlin, Dan Rooney, and the entire Steelers front office have clarified that regular-season success isn't enough. They want to win, and they want to win now! This offseason could be the culmination of a NEW Steeler Way. Not even mentioning rumors that Le'Veon Bell may return if he passes his physical and the Steelers want him back, a reunion could be in the works!

On February 11th, 2024, at 10:52 PM, the Steelers tweeted, "The 2024 season starts now." Ladies and gentlemen, they weren't lying. Here. We. Go!