Opportunity can knock, even when you're on the other side of the world.
That was the case for Arthur Smith after being let go as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Smith, who had been head coach in Atlanta for three seasons, had promised his wife Allison, a vacation after the season, and they were in Dubai on their way to Maldives when he received a call from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin asking if he would be interested in interviewing for his open offensive coordinator position.
"When Mike called me I was literally halfway around the world and I was like, 'Heck yeah, I'm interested,'" Smith said Tuesday as the Steelers kicked off their first day of mandatory minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
But the interview would have to wait until the Smiths returned to the United States. Once that happened, Smith met with Tomlin and was quickly hired to revamp a Steelers offense that ranked 28th in scoring offense in 2023.
To the 42-year-old Smith, joining the Steelers organization was a no-brainer, especially considering he began his career prior to becoming head coach in Atlanta as an assistant coach with the Tennessee Titans, where he worked with a bevy of former Steelers.
"I have such an appreciation of the history of this game and guys that have been big mentors to me have either coached here or played here, and I can go on and on," Smith said. "Mike Vrabel was a player here and I worked for Vrabes and he had a big influence. Mike Mularkey. Russ Grimm. Dick LeBeau. I've got guys that I coach with in Tennessee from Deshea Townsend to Nick Eason. There are so many guys, players or coaches that swear by his place. And so when Mike called me he talked about finding out timing and life works.
"I wanted him to know yeah, I was interested in this job. And so to work for Mike, and what this place means, the history of this game and the way that the Rooneys have done business here. I got to know Omar (Khan) a little bit over the years after the league meetings and whatnot, and certainly, Mike and that was very appealing. It's rare when you have a guy that's been in one spot and had the success he's had, that's older, that's done on for a longer time. (He's) somebody you can learn from that has really a shared belief. So really, it was a home run for me."
That's what the Steelers are hoping it is for them, as well.
Despite their offensive issues in 2023, the Steelers finished 10-7 and earned a trip to the playoffs, where they were ousted by the Bills.
They were proactive in the offseason, completely retooling the quarterback position by bringing in former All-Pro Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen, three veterans with skill sets that Smith can design his offense around.
Having an all-new quarterback room makes the installation of Smith's offense easier as they're all learning at the same pace.
"You get a job like this, and there's a guy, he's a guy that's maybe been here 10 years, they may have a certain way they've done things and so you're new," Smith said. "However, we're all new. And so that's been fun, going back and looking at the film and stuff that all three of those guys have done at previous stops, stuff I've done. It's a little bit easier when everybody's new."
The retooling of the Steelers offense wasn't just limited to the quarterback room. The team also continued a rebuild of the offensive line that began last offseason with the additions of Isaac Seumalo and Nick Herbig and the drafting of Broderick Jones by selecting offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, center Zach Frazier and guard Mason McCormick in the draft.
That aligns with Smith's philosophy of wanting to be physical up front to be better able to run the football.
"When you look at both sides and why the scrimmage, you may have the greatest designed play against this coverage and schemed up perfectly and if you can't move guys up front it's going to be hard, hard living," Smith said. "And you look at the history they've had here, there's a great history on both sides of line of scrimmage, especially when they've won Super Bowls. It's just something I believe in. And I was an offensive lineman myself."
Smith's offenses when he was coordinator in Tennessee and head coach in Atlanta have ranked in the top five in the NFL in three of his five seasons and in the top 10 in four of those years.
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The Steelers ranked 13th in the league running the ball in 2023 at 118 yards per game with Najee Harris topping 1,000 yards for the third-straight season and Jaylen Warren joining him to provide one of the NFL's best 1-2 punches. Warren rushed for nearly 800 yards in 2023, as well.
Smith sees a continuation of that dynamic and has been pleased by what he's seen of that duo.
"Both Najee and Jaylen have had a lot of success in this league," he said. "You break it down, a 17-game season, you hope to have 1,100-plus plays. And if you're a balanced offense, give or take where your carries are out, even Derrick Henry, we didn't ask him to carry the ball 550 times so there's plenty of carries to go around whether that's traditionally or non-traditionally. But it's really exciting to get to work with both those guys."
It's all about building an offense that best takes advantage of the talent on the Steelers' roster.
Smith feels he has a good handle on that after going through the spring OTAs and the Steelers will be ready to hit the ground running at the start of training camp at the end of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
"Every year you go back and watch film, whether it's your own stuff, stuff that I've done in my past and you know you're getting an evaluation of the personnel and there's always things to improve on," Smith said. "And things changed so much. The roster has changed a lot, as well. But we're just moving forward. So in particular, I go back and look at things that didn't and Atlanta or Tennessee or previous stops, things I need to improve on, and we move forward. But I'm really excited about the group of guys we got. It's been a good spring so far."
