Steelers OC Arthur Smith not 'caught up' in return to Atlanta for Week 1 matchup

Revenge won’t be on Arthur Smith’s mind Sunday when he returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time since he was fired in January as the Atlanta Falcons head coach.

Smith will be standing on the visiting sideline focusing on his role as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His three-year tenure with the Falcons will be firmly on the back-burner.

“I’m not an emotional, petty person,” said Smith, who had a 21-30 record in Atlanta. “You have to have discipline no matter who you are playing, whether it’s us playing Atlanta this week or going to Denver next week with (quarterback Russell Wilson).

“You get caught up in this, you’re caught up in the wrong things.”

Hired to a six-year contract in 2021, Smith was let go by team owner Arthur Blank halfway through that deal. He was sacked hours after the Falcons finished 7-10 for a third consecutive season.

Smith insisted Thursday that he won’t be sentimental about his return to Atlanta and wouldn’t say he’s glad to get the reunion out of the way in the first week of the NFL season.

“You’ve got to have a neutral mindset,” Smith said. “Sure, you always have history somewhere. This is unusual a little bit, but it is what it is. The mindset has to be on our guys and what we can do to win the game.”

Related

• Football Footnotes: With his Steelers 2024 forecast, Tim Benz looks to copy last year's spot-on picks (with some improvement)
• First Call: Steelers reportedly 'unsure' about Russell Wilson's status for Sunday; NFL explains Steelers-KC matchup
• Steelers' Najee Harris appreciates Arthur Smith's offense, Cordarrelle Patterson's vet presence

Coach Mike Tomlin also downplayed the significance of Smith’s return from a game-planning perspective. Although the Falcons have some familiar skill players in Drake London, Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts back from 2023, they signed quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency. The defense features newcomers Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons.

“Obviously, he has an understanding of a lot of their personnel,” Tomlin said. “Everybody in the National Football League has personnel departments. It’s our business to understand their personnel. I don’t know that we’ve had any earth-shattering information provided in that regard.”

A handful of Smith’s former offensive players followed him to the Steelers: wide receivers Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller, tight end MyCole Pruitt and running back Cordarrelle Patterson. They also know many of the Falcons players, just as many players in Atlanta are familiar with Smith’s preferences as a play-caller.

“I don’t know if there is any advantage,” Jefferson said. “We’re all going out there Week 1 playing against each other. Obviously there is film study that you do, but it’s two teams coming together. It depends on who executes and adjusts better.”

One of the reasons for Smith’s lack of success with the Falcons was inconsistent quarterback play. In 2021, an aging Matt Ryan was in his final season with the team. The next season, his starters were Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder. Last year, the Falcons struggled with Ridder and Taylor Heinecke under center.

Counting the 2020 season, when Smith was in his final year as the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator, he will be working with his fifth starting quarterback to open the season. That will hold true no matter if Justin Fields replaces Russell Wilson, who re-injured his calf in practice Thursday.

Smith had Mariota and Ryan Tannehill jostling for the starting job in Tennessee in 2019, so he understands the nuances of having a seasoned veteran and a high-profile young quarterback competing for snaps.

“That experience helps, knowing that it’s never one-size-fits-all,” he said. “Everybody’s different. Every player you coach is different. … The big part of it is chemistry, getting to know people, getting to know how they think as you’re installing what fits you. We’ve done a lot of that, spent a lot of time with all three of our quarterbacks and getting to know them.”

In Wilson, Smith is dealing with calling plays for a quarterback who has won one Super Bowl title and played in a second championship game. He’s coaching a veteran who ranks No. 19 on the all-time passing yardage list and fourth among active players, trailing Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Joe Flacco.

“You’ve got to understand, everybody’s got past experiences,” Smith said. “What you’re really looking for is the trust, and that doesn’t happen overnight. When you’re new somewhere, you’re out to prove yourself, let the guard down a little bit, have real conversations.”

Smith brings a history of success as a play-caller at the NFL level, a trait predecessor Matt Canada lacked. Canada never had called plays above the college level when he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021.

Smith also brings the resume of being a head coach, which he believes could make him better equipped to handle the return to a coordinator role.

“Things you used to worry about or agitated you,” Smith said, “once you see the other side of it, you have more empathy.”