Arthur Smith Not Looking for Payback on Falcons: ‘I’m Not an Emotional, Petty Person’
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is treating the Atlanta Falcons as nameless gray faces, despite knowing nearly the entire roster. He’s not getting caught up in the storylines of his return to Atlanta, where he was the head coach for three seasons from 2021-2023.
Smith was fired as Atlanta’s head coach this past season following three consecutive 7-10 campaigns. While I’m sure Smith wants nothing more than to beat his former team, he’s not revealing that publicly.
“I’m not an emotional, petty person,” Smith said on Thursday. “You have to have discipline no matter who you are playing, whether it’s us playing Atlanta this week or going to Denver next week with (quarterback Russell Wilson). You get caught up in this, you’re caught up in the wrong things.”
Smith understands that he has a history in Atlanta, but he’s treating it just like any other game.
“You’ve got to have a neutral mindset,” Smith said. “Sure, you always have history somewhere. This is unusual a little bit, but it is what it is. The mindset has to be on our guys and what we can do to win the game.
“You’ve got to understand, everybody’s got past experiences. What you’re really looking for is the trust, and that doesn’t happen overnight. When you’re new somewhere, you’re out to prove yourself, let the guard down a little bit, have real conversations.”
During his Tuesday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin downplayed the notion that Smith provides an advantage against the Falcons, despite being Atlanta’s head coach from 2021-2023.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “Obviously he has an intimate understanding of a lot of their personnel, but everybody in the National Football League has personnel departments. It is our business to understand personnel. So I don’t know that we’ve had any earth-shattering information provided in that regard.”
Despite how things ended, Smith doesn’t hold a grudge against the Falcons organization.
“You should be grateful, nothing is guaranteed in this league. I’m grateful for my time in Atlanta, I love those players and staff,” Smith told Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
While the Falcons roster is mainly the same, there has been some turnover. Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon and All-Pro safety Justin Simmons were acquired over the last month. They also have a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins.
“A lot of them are still there, we brought in there. But it’s going to be about the players. Yeah they added Kirk (Cousins) and they drafted Michael Penix. You got new schemes, different philosophies. You look at the roster now, there is a lot of familiar faces, but there’s turnover at key positions too,” Smith told Russini. “So once that’s kicked off our job is to win that game, it’s not going to be a reunion or anything, it’s the league, there’s a storyline almost every week, that’s what makes the league great. I’m excited, I’m excited with this group we’ve been building here.”
Steelers wide receiver/kicker returner Cordarrelle Patterson signed with the Steelers this offseason because of Smith. He is one of five players from Smith’s tenure in Atlanta, along with Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller, MyCole Pruitt and Adetokunbo Ogundeji (recently signed to the practice squad) to come to Pittsburgh. So this Sunday’s game in Atlanta will also be a homecoming for several Steelers players.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.
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