Arthur Smith spent three seasons as the Atlanta Falcons head coach -- three middling seasons. He failed to produce anything more than an average team resulting in his dismissal one year ago.
The offensive coach was eventually hired by Mike Tomlin to be the Pittsburgh Steelers' latest attempt at employing a competent offensive coordinator. Early on, things looked good, especially when Russell Wilson took over. However, the offense fell off a cliff, resulting in another one-and-done playoff berth.
Smith hasn't made many friends in the Steel City. Fans have been begging for him to be fired and now a former player has joined the conviction.
Former WR Brandon Marshell asks Mike Tomlin to fire Arthur Smith
Six-time Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall is making his voice known regarding his childhood team. Along with the belief that Russell Wilson should return, he believes that Mike Tomlin should make the difficult decision and fire his offensive coordinator.
Here is what he said on the I Am Athlete podcast:
"I would like to see Russell Wilson back, it fits. It makes sense. But not with Arthur, the offensive coordinator. That is the problem. Make the tough decision coach Tomlin. Your problem is not the quarterback, your problem is the offensive coordinator."Brandon Marshall
Atlanta Falcons fans can relate; suffering through his bland offense, made worse by a snarky attitude toward the media, is taxing. Fortunately, we don't have to deal with that anymore and we can now sit back and laugh, throwing in the occasional I told you so.
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This brings up another point, for as good of a coach Mike Tomlin is, he sure has a difficult time hiring offensive coordinators. Since firing long-time OC Todd Haley in 2018, Randy Fichtner, Matt Canada, Eddie Faulkner, and Arthur Smith have attempted to fix things, to no avail.
Things will only get worse from here if Smith isn't fired, that is a guarantee.