It's the age-old question: who in the NFL does Arthur Smith have dirt on? The ex-Atlanta Falcons' head coach continues to receive premier coaching opportunities even though he has proven time and again that he is a bad coach and a below average play-caller who owes most of his success to Derrick Henry.
For some reason, the Arizona Cardinals requested to interview Smith for their head coaching job. The only thing more bizarre than the fact that teams are truly interested in this guy is realizing that this isn't even his first interview of the offseason, since he already spoke with the Tennessee Titans.
Cardinals have requested Steelers OC Arthur Smith for head coach interview, source confirms
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 14, 2026
In what's been a genuinely chaotic head coaching carousel, the most surprising development is that the 43-year-old is garnering consideration. Then again, the teams who have spoken to him are two of the most incompetent in the NFL, which checks out given Smith is highly overrated as a play-caller.
Arthur Smith has received not one, but two head coaching interviews this offseason
Smith was the head coach in Atlanta for three seasons and led them to a 7-10 record in all three. I'm unsure on whether or not the Titans and Cardinals are choosing to ignore his stint with the Dirty Birds, or they just think he would do better on a second go-around as a coach, which is hilarious.
His offense just put up six points in a playoff game and helped force Mike Tomlin out in Pittsburgh, but these offensive struggles aren't just a one-year wonder. The Steelers ranked bottom 10 in total offense in both years Smith called plays and the Falcons did the same in two of his three seasons at the helm.
Additionally, Smith hasn't called a top 16 offense in football since leaving Tennessee, and even that offense's success was in large part due to Henry and AJ Brown. There has even been talk of him following Tomlin out the door in Pittsburgh, but that could come down to who replaces him as coach,
Unlike the Cardinals, the Titans have widespread interest in their head coaching job, so they likely only interviewed him as a courtesy after his time there. Arizona is most likely moving on from Kyler Murray this offseason, which is why they feel to need to settle for such a mediocre candidate.
Cardinals' owner Michael Bidwill has a tendency to stray from people's expectations, and hiring Smith would do just that. After the Jonathan Gannon debacle, Arizona needs to hire an offensive-minded coach who can enforce their culture, but Smith shouldn't be a name at the top of Bidwill's mind.