Why Jets Shouldn't Hire The Brutally Bad Arthur Smith

Among them is Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who interviewed with the Jets on Thursday.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with interviewing anybody. More information is crucial to such a big decision, and New York could be criticized for not interviewing him if he finds success somewhere else in 2025. 

But the prospect of a Smith hire should be worrying to fans who’ve already had to endure rumors of a Rex Ryan reunion.

Allow us to put on our "critic'' hat for what we say would be a brutally bad hire.

Smith is no longer the crown jewel of the coaching carousel like he was in 2021, when the Jets opted for Robert Saleh. Fresh off a promising stretch with the Tennessee Titans, Smith was hired by the Atlanta Falcons.

For three consecutive years, Atlanta went 7-10. Each year of his tenure, Atlanta added a first-round weapon – tight end Kyle Pitts, receiver Drake London, and running back Bijan Robinson – but the offense failed to stick. Smith struggled to find competent quarterbacking, and while that’s not necessarily his fault, he didn’t help his case with the other aspects of the job.

Smith was notoriously perturbed with the media aspects of the job and couldn’t take advantage of a weak NFC South.

After he was unceremoniously fired, he landed on his feet with Pittsburgh. Again, a lack of talent limited his effectiveness, but the Steelers were supposed to run the ball well. They ranked 27th in rushing success rate on first down and 24th overall.

Despite the hot start Pittsburgh found, it ultimately crashed and burned, losing five games to end the year. The offense wasn’t well-coached. Players botched blocking assignments in the Wild Card Round, and receiver George Pickens didn’t find the box score until it was too late.

There is nothing inspiring about a Smith-led offense that doesn’t have a Hall of Fame running back and an All-Pro receiver. Failing upwards is how Adam Gase’s tenure dismantled a previous chapter of the Jets rebuild.

New York can’t guarantee its next coach is successful, but it can ensure that the process behind the hire is sound. Bringing in Smith, who did not find success in either of his last two stops, would fly in the face of that goal.