Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith before a game against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 15, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is expected to become the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator barring a change of heart, per Jeff Darlington and Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith interviewed for the Chargers’ vacant OC position. It’s the second OC position that Smith has missed out on. Smith also missed out on the Detroit Lions’ OC position and the Tennessee Titans’ head coaching job.
Smith also interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals for their vacant head coaching job. Arizona has not named a HC yet.
If Smith does not get the Arizona job, he could be on the outside looking in on a head coach or offensive coordinator position in 2026.
Smith remains under contract for the Steelers for the 2025 season, even though Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach last Tuesday.
Steelers president Art Rooney II revealed during his press conference last week that he does not think anyone on the staff currently will be a candidate for the vacant head coach position.
“Right now, I don’t think anybody on our staff is a candidate,” Rooney said. “Maybe a candidate to stay on the staff depending on what the new head coach wants to do, but probably not as a head coach.”
Smith is the only one that could have been seen as a candidate.
There is a chance that he could stay on the staff with a new head coach, however. Both of Tomlin’s initial coordinators, Dick LeBeau and Bruce Arians, were holdovers from the previous staff.
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith at OTAs on May 29, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Smith, 43, was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for three seasons before joining the Steelers, posting a 7-10 record every year before being fired.
He rehabbed his reputation in Pittsburgh by his offense over-achieving its talent level. In 2023, the year before he arrived, the Steelers finished 28th in scoring under Matt Canada. In Smith’s first season, that jumped up to 16th and then 15th in his second season in 2025.
In the middle of last season, Smith turned down an opportunity to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina — a job that eventually went to Bill Belichick. He was also a finalist for the New York Jets head coaching job that eventually went to Aaron Glenn.
Alan Saunders contributed.
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