Surprise Offensive Dark Horse Has Emerged in Jets HC Search.
he New York Jets will be undergoing a broad search to find its next head coach in 2025.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini shared a surprise name that hasn’t been discussed but could pick up some steam during the process.
“Another name to watch, he is kind of a dark horse candidate, Arthur Smith currently the Steelers offensive coordinator. He was one of the runner-ups to [Robert] Saleh in 2021,” Cimini said on “The Flight Deck Podcast.” “Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Jets hired him because we all know Saleh wanted to hire Smith last offseason to come in and oversee the offense & Nathaniel Hackett. That never really got seriously close to happening because he knew he was going to go to Pittsburgh.
He has done a great job this year with Russell Wilson. I know I get it he was with Atlanta for 3 years and Smith was the definition of mediocre. He was 7-10 in all 3 seasons w/ the Falcons but he does have head coaching experience. He is an offensive guy & he’s an interesting name. Clearly, this ownership is familiar with him. I’m not saying he is a frontrunner but he’s just an interesting name.”
Well, that’s a name I didn’t have on my bingo card…
ESPN’s Rich Cimini listed #Steelers OC Arthur Smith as a “dark horse candidate” for the #Jets HC gig this offseason.
“Another name to watch, he is kind of a dark horse candidate, Arthur Smith currently the Steelers offensive… pic.twitter.com/r4eSIFLYLI
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) December 4, 2024
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Smith Checks off a Lot of Boxes, but Leaves Many Questions
Play.
Since 2012, Smith has been exclusively an offensive coach in the NFL. He started as an offensive quality control coach, then moved to the offensive line, to assistant tight ends coach, and tight ends coach.
Over the last six years, Smith has taken a major step up in responsibility as an offensive coordinator, then head coach, and then back to offensive coordinator.
Smith’s experience would be incredibly attractive to the Jets as both an offensive mind and as a non-first-time head coach.
However, his head coaching tenure with the Falcons from 2021 through 2023 was less than ideal. Smith coached in a terrible NFC South for 66% of his tenure. During his last two seasons, the NFC South champions were 9-8 and 8-9 respectively.
Despite the division being up for grabs in each of those years, Smith failed to seize it. Now it’s also fair to say that Smith never had a quarterback. That is essentially the Robert Saleh argument. Everything else, outside of the quarterback spot, was interesting but if he just had a quarterback you could properly evaluate everything.
Does he deserve a second shot?
Jets Have Shown Interest in Smith Multiple Times in the Past
Before the Jets hired Saleh in 2021, they kicked the tires on Smith with an interview to be the next head coach.
This past offseason, the Jets were seeking a veteran offensive coach. It was an awkward situation because they weren’t necessarily replacing offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett because of his relationship with Aaron Rodgers. However, they did want a babysitter in the room that could overlook the entire process and provide some serious influence.
Connor Hughes of SNY reports that the Jets wanted to hire Smith as the “lead offensive voice” and a “senior advisor” on the staff. However, he rejected those advances and instead took the Steelers OC job.
Smith has done an amazing job with both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson this season. Pittsburgh has a 9-3 record and is in sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
There is good and bad on the Smith resume which complicates how attractive he would potentially be as a Jets head coaching candidate.
I asked my nearly 18,000 X followers, previously Twitter, who are mostly Jets fans if they’d be excited by a Smith hire.
69.3% of them said no 18.6% of them said meh, and only 12.1% of them said yes. Take that for whatever it is worth.
