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The Pittsburgh Steelers got a complete offensive overhaul during the offseason. The Steelers replaced their entire QB room, added new skill position talent, and hired a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. Smith will have a chance to face his old team in just over a week.
The Steelers will play the Falcons in the season opener. Smith recently talked about what that game means to him in an interview on The Athletic's Scoop City podcast.
“You should be grateful, nothing is guaranteed in this league,” Smith said about his time in Atlanta. “I’m grateful for my time in Atlanta, I love those players and staff. A lot of them are still there, we brought in there. But it’s going to be about the players. Yeah they added Kirk and they drafted Michael Penix. You got new schemes, different philosophies. You look at the roster now, there is a lot of familiar faces, but there’s turnover at key positions too. So once that’s kicked off our job is to win that game, it’s not going to be a reunion or anything, it’s the league, there’s a story-line almost every week, that’s what makes the league great. I’m excited, I’m excited with this group we’ve been building here.”
Smith ended his Falcons tenure with a record of 21 – 30.
Weirdly enough, Smith became the head coach in Atlanta and beat out new Falcons HC Raheem Morris, who was the interim coach when Dan Quinn was fired back in 2020.
Smith never really established a QB in Atlanta while he was coach. This problem could follow him to Pittsburgh as neither Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields is a guaranteed hit as a starter in 2024.
Regardless, both Smith and Steelers fans will be pleased to just get a win in Week 1.
Stephen A. Smith drops harsh criticism of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has a history of success in Pittsburgh. However, since the departure of Ben Roethlisberger, the team has struggled to find success in the playoffs.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith dropped some brutal criticism of Tomlin on First Take on Thursday morning.
“He is the one that coined the phrase, the standard is the standard. Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers once had a standard, that standard has dissipated, and the reality is that collectively, they haven’t lived up to the standard Mike Tomlin inherited,” Smith said. “Mike Tomlin is the Super Bowl champion. He went to two Super Bowls in his first four seasons. Since that time, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-8 in playoff games, with six one-and-done postseasons. [They] got the seventh-worst playoff record in the National Football League over the last 13 seasons, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.”
Smith also highlighted how long it has been since the Steelers have won a playoff game.
“The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers won a playoff game, Dak Prescott had just entered the NFL, and by the way, Trump was running against Hillary Clinton for election,” Smith said. “That’s how long ago it was last time the Steelers won a playoff game.”
Tomlin and the Steelers will need to start the 2024 season on a hot streak if they want to compete for a playoff spot in a loaded AFC.
