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Steelers Daily News & Links: Cowher Takes On Crazed Ravens Fan, Arthur Smith Reaction

National outlets weigh in on the hiring of new Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

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MIAMI, FL - FEBRUARY 01: Pro Football Hall of Fame member Bill Cowher during the Hall of Fame Press conference during the NFL Honors on February 1, 2020 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, FL. (Photo by Rich Graessle/PPI/Icon Sportswire)

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🏈 New York Post: Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher had a run in with a belligerent Ravens fan at the Baltimore Amtrak station following the AFC Championship Game. Cowher was there with his “NFL Today” colleagues Boomer Esiason and Nate Burleson. According to Esiason, who was relaying the story Monday on WFAN’s morning show, the fan approached him and Cowher claiming that the NFL was “rigged.” Taylor Swift was part of the fan’s theory, though the specifics of his thinking remain unclear. Esiason ignored him and watched the NFC Championship Game on is iPad.

However, Cowher engaged the fan and a lengthy argument ensued with the fan getting in Cowher’s face.

“Coach is awesome because he’ll defend the NFL, like ‘I don’t want to hear crap from some drunk-ass fan who just lost a bet.’ He will die with that shield…,” Esiason said of Cowher.

“If he gets any closer I may have to get up and f’in smash this guy in the face. I am like pissed off now. I am trying to watch the game and this idiot is screaming about how the NFL is rigged and it’s this, that and the other thing.”

The situation deescalated, but it still reached the point where the cops became involved before it ultimately cooled down.

🏈 Pete Overzet of Fantasy Sports Radio tried finding the positives in the Steelers hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, but ultimately is not a fan. Overset fully credited Smith for his run game schemes, but is worried about his ability to develop quarterbacks. 

“The issues is we’ve seen how much Arthur Smith struggles without competent quarterback play. He’s so stubborn with how he doesn’t cater his offense to the skill set of the quarterback. The Steelers have the same issue. The Steelers have just as dire of a quarterback situation as the Falcons did. So in that regard, it doesn’t seem like a great fit,” Overzet said. “Not to mention that the Steelers had to fire their previous offensive coordinator Matt Canada for lacking inventive and creative concepts. They were one of the teams that ran motion at one of the lowest rates in the league. It’s one of the most simple concepts to get offenses going. It was all vertical routes, not a ton of creativity. And so they say, ‘Yeah we need something to take advantage of our personnel,’ which is an above-average personnel grouping in the NFL. So to bring in Arthur Smith, who has a lot of similar traits to Matt Canada from a lack of creativity, stubbornness standpoint, that doesn’t seem like a step in the right direction for me.”

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🏈 Falcons insider D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave the skinny on the Steelers new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who previously was the Falcons head coach for three years. Before his tenure in Atlanta, Smith had impressive run as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator.

“(Arthur Smith) is a good hire. He can pound the ball and, in the AFC North, you have to be able to pound it at people, and he’s been able to do that at both stops,” Ledbetter said on 93.7 The Fan.

🏈 Arthur Smith was 21-30 during his three seasons as the Falcons head coach. Former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and offensive coordinator Todd Haley also had failed stints as head coaches, but were better as coordinators. LeBeau was 12-33 as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach from 2000-2002, while Haley was 19-26 during his three seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs head coach from 2009-2011.

🏈 Former Steelers scout and Hall of Famer Bill Nunn spent more than 40 years in the Steelers front office and was part of six teams that won Super Bowls. On Tuesday, his daughter, Lynell, visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame and saw all six Lombardi Trophies her father was part of winning in the Hall’s A Legacy Forged In Black & Gold exhibit.

📅 On this day in 1968, the Steelers selected Notre Dame running back Rocky Bleier in the 16th round. Bleier was drafted into the Army on Dec. 4, 1968 and volunteered for infantry duty in South Vietnam.

He was wounded twice, taking a bullet in the thigh and then a grenade blast damaged his lower right leg and foot. Despite being told he would not be able to play football again, Bleier rejoined the Steelers in 1970 and resumed playing in the 1971 season.

Bleier played 10 more seasons after his wounds, rushing for 1,036 yards in 1976 to join backfield-mate Franco Harris in the 1,000-yard club, the second time in league history two teammates rushed for 1,000 yards in the same season.

Bleier was part of four Steelers Super Bowl winners and is a member of the team’s Hall of Honor.

🎥 Mike Tomlin was spotted talking with Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at the Senior Bowl.

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