Mike Tomlin Confirms Arthur Smith’s Role in Major Change as Steelers HC Reveals Aaron Rodgers Timeline

Arthur Smith’s influence over the Steelers’ offense produced a positive result. You see, they went from 304.3 yards per game in 2023 to 319.4, and points jumped from 17.9 to 22.4. Yes, the bar was low to start with, but Smith showed enough to get yet another go, which will be his second season with the team. However, there are some holes he needs to fill. He didn’t stand up to his reputation for getting the best performance out of tight ends in Pittsburgh last season.

And so fans were disappointed because they were expecting something big from Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington. But the main question is: What is HC Mike Tomlin expecting from his OC? Well, to answer this question, the head coach recently talked about Smith’s role in an exclusive interview on the Steelers’ YouTube channel.

When asked, “Now, year two for Arthur Smith and Pittsburgh, you know, having the helm of the offense, what are you looking at some of the changes and improvements for that offense with that stasis?” Tomlin basically compared Smith’s second year in Pittsburgh to a rookie leveling up from year one.

“You know, certainly when I talk about rookies, for example, it is reasonable to expect significant growth between year one and year two, but I can apply that analogy to any and all of us. As you mentioned, this is Arthur’s second year in Pittsburgh, and so he’s familiar with the culture within which he works.” Let’s take a look at the highs and lows of Smith’s year one on the Steelers’ offense.

We can’t deny the fact that the OC gave a thrilling start to Pittsburgh with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson with a 9-3 start. At one point, the Steelers were easily the top contender for the AFC North division title. Courtesy? Their O-line. Remember that week 13 game against the Bengals?

Pittsburgh’s offense scored 40 points (a feat previously dating back to 2018), and Wilson threw for over 400 yards (again, a feat dating back to Ben Roethlisberger’s era in 2018). The kicker? The momentum didn’t last. By the end of their 2024 season, Pittsburgh ranked 23rd while averaging 319.4 yards per game, and struggled with their passing game, ranking 27th with 192 yards per game.

However, Tomlin believes that considering it’s Smith’s second year in Pittsburgh, the OC is now familiar with the players they have on their roster.“He’s also familiar and more familiar with the players that we have, the ones that have been here and will continue to be here,” Tomlin continued.

“And also, he’s been a component of the acquisition of the new players, guys like Kenny (Gainwell) and DK (Metcalf). And so, it’s reasonable to expect him and us as an offensive collective to take a significant step forward. I know that’s our mindset as we lay the foundation for it.” The silver lining is that despite the offensive struggles and a rocky relationship with Wilson, Smith’s offense didn’t go unnoticed.

Top Comment by jake742

He can only succeed if Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback and he lets him call his own plays! Otherwise it’s...more

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Sure, the Steelers struggled with their passing game, but let’s not forget the rushing attack: Ranking 11th with 127.4 yards per game. As far as scoring was concerned, the Steelers found themselves in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th with 22.4 points per game. All in all, it’s safe to say that the Steelers’ offense had a great start in the last regular season, but was marred by inconsistency and a disappointing finish.

Fast forward to this offseason, Smith played a key role while signing the veteran WR, DK Metcalf, and the RB, Kenny (Kenneth) Gainwell. And the way things are shaping up, the HC and the OC are also looking to sign a veteran QB to their roster. That said, Arthur Smith is probably going to take a different approach in his second year in Pittsburgh now that they don’t have any of the QBs that played in the last season.

Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are still waiting for Aaron Rodgers

The Steelers’ offseason started with a debate on whether to sign Wilson or Fields for their QB1 role. Cut to the present and roughly three weeks in the new league year, the team’s still stuck in limbo about their QB position. The only change? Well, both Wilson and Fields are out of Pittsburgh, with the former signed a one-year deal with the Giants and the latter packed his bags to join the Jets on a two-year deal.

As for the Steelers, they’re now in pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. Oh, that’s the most interesting part. The team’s waiting for the 41-year-old’s response, but Rodgers is constantly ghosting them. Thanks to that, everyone was assuming that the Steelers had set an internal deadline to sign or pass on Rodgers. The kicker? Well, they haven’t set any deadline.

On Sunday, when Mike Tomlin was asked if the Steelers were operating an internal deadline for Rodgers at the Annual League Meeting, the HC straight up declined any such perspective for Rodgers. “Not to my knowledge,” Tomlin said, per ESPN. “I don’t know that we’ve approached it from a deadline perspective. Certainly, as I mentioned, you’d like to have settled circumstances, but deadlines don’t often bring that to a head.”

The funny thing is that it’s been over a week since Rodgers visited the Steelers facility. But still, there are no contract talks. Geez! There isn’t any deadline for Rodgers if the Steelers want to sign or pass on him. In fact, the meeting was just… well, let’s just say, a casual get-together between a few guys who know each other pretty well.

“It’s been reported that he spent a day with us, and it was a really good day,” Tomlin said. “Specifically, he and I obviously have known of each other for some time, and so it was really good to spend some time together, man, and get to know each other more intimately, but it is free agency. It is a process.” It’s definitely been a long process since we’re yet to hear an official confirmation on this deal.

To top that off, Tomlin even admitted that he’s been in contact with Rodgers since the QB’s visit to the Steelers’ facility. “I have. But I’ll leave that between he and I,” he admitted. As we’re about to welcome April, let’s just hope the new month brings an end to this Rodgers-Steelers saga. After all, Pittsburgh is looking for a QB1. As for Rodgers…. well, it’s still unclear if he’s really interested in playing in 2025, or retirement is a better option.