The Steelers have bigger problems than the quarterback position, but Arthur Smith is not one of them. At least according to Bill Belichick. The legendary NFL head coach joined the Pat McAfee Show to discuss the state of Mike Tomlin's team in Pittsburgh.
Belichick noted the struggles of 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones and an offensive line that can't seem to gel early on, but he made sure to give a glowing endorsement to the Steelers' offensive coordinator.
"I think Arthur is a great fit for that offense, for what Coach Tomlin wants," Belichick stated on The Pat McAfee Show. After continuing to stress areas of focus and improvement on the Steelers, Belichick continued about Smith.
"I thought Arthur did a really good job with Atlanta last year... I think that Arthur is a good fit, he's a really good coach. I think he'll get a lot out of his team."
"I think the Steelers need to get their running game and the offensive line playing consistently..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 19, 2024
Arthur Smith is a good fit and he's a really good coach" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/yslro3KVPo
Bill Belichick's endorsement of Steelers OC is an encouraging sign
Over the past few years, the New England Patriots offense struggled about as much as any team in the league. Because of this, Steelers fans will be quick to claim that Coach Belichick's opinion on the Steelers doesn't matter... but this is Bill Belichick we are talking about here.
The future Hall of Fame coach knows a thing or two about winning championships, and he believes Pittsburgh has a great thing going when it comes to their new offensive coordinator hire.
After two failed internal hirings at offensive coordinator with Randy Fichtner and Matt Canada, Mike Tomlin finally looked outside of the organization for an answer to spark the offense. Smith, who spent the past three seasons as the head coach of the Falcons, didn't have great success in Atlanta. However, if you go back to his days as offensive coordinator of the Titans, he was brilliant.
While Smith isn't bringing a high-volume passing offense to Pittsburgh, the Steelers' new-look offense will be infused with play-action passes, which hopefully will improve the efficiency of the passing game.
Belichick believes Smith is a perfect pairing with head coach Mike Tomlin, as the two coaches can execute the game plan without putting the ball in harm's way often.
It remains to be seen if Arthur Smith is the right man for the job or if he can even bring the Pittsburgh Steelers from a bad offense to an average offense. However, an endorsement by arguably the greatest coach in the history of football must give fans optimism about the 2024 season.