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National media outlet names the offseason move they loved the most from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday, The Athletic's Mike Sando named the offseason move he liked the most from each NFL team. 

Sando had several options for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He could've gone with the addition of quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Or he could've pointed out Pittsburgh's decision to cut ties with Kenny Pickett after just two seasons. 

But instead, Sando went with the Steelers' decision to hire former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to replace Matt Canada as the franchise's offensive coordinator. 

From The Athletic: The Steelers finally have a coherent vision on offense following Arthur Smith’s hiring as coordinator. Smith, the first established coordinator the Steelers have employed on offense since Todd Haley’s final season in 2017, arrives after the organization basically failed Kenny Pickett and others on offense in recent seasons. This has to be a major upgrade.

Smith spent a decade with the Tennessee Titans, eventually rising to offensive coordinator in 2019, before taking over as the Falcons' head coach from 2021 to 2023. 

The former North Carolina offensive lineman went 7-10 in each of his three seasons in Atlanta (Jeff Fisher would be proud) before getting fired this past offseason. 

Smith, however, showed in Nashville that he's a more-than-capable offensive coordinator. Former Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, in fact, had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020 while playing under Smith in Tennessee (Tannehill had a career high 33 passing touchdowns in 2020). 

With Wilson and Fields at his disposal, Smith should be able to quickly turn the offense around in Pittsburgh. 

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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