Arthur Smith won’t have to wait long to return to a sideline

Arthur Smith. Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Arthur Smith reportedly won’t have to wait long to return to an NFL sideline

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/23/24

It’s been less than three weeks since Arthur Smith was fired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, but he may not be out of a job for long.

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, as many as seven teams are interested in bringing Smith on as their offensive coordinator.

Several teams are looking for a new offensive coordinator including the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.

Credible insiders have linked 3 coaches to the Steelers OC job:

-Zac Robinson
-Kliff Kingsbury
-Arthur Smith

Which one interests you the most? I'd say Robinson.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 23, 2024

Conversely, the Titans, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders are all expected to be looking for new OCs as well after firing their head coaches.

Other offensive coordinator jobs that could become vacant include the Detroit Lions (Ben Johnson), Houston Texans (Bobby Slowik), Miami Dolphins (Frank Smith), New York Giants (Mike Kafka) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Dave Canales) should any of them get offered a head-coaching job.

Prior to his three-year stint as the Falcons head coach, Smith spent two seasons as the OC for the Tennessee Titans, a position he was promoted to from tight ends coach when Matt LaFleur left to take the head-coaching job with the Green Bay Packers.

In Smith’s first season as OC, Tennessee ranked 12th in total offense (362.8 yards per game), third in rushing (138.9 yards per game) and 10th in scoring (25.1 points per game) before becoming into one of the top offensive units the next season.

The Titans had one of the top offenses in the NFL in 2020, ranking second in rushing (168.1 yards per game), third in total offense (396.4 yards per game) and fourth in scoring (30.7 points per game).

That year, quarterback Ryan Tannehill set a new career high with 33 touchdown passes, while running back Derrick Henry rushed for a league-high 2,027 yards (the fifth-highest single-season rushing total in NFL history), becoming just the eighth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season.

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