When Arthur Smith was announced as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans back in 2019, he wasn’t a widely-known commodity around the NFL at the time. Smith had spent the previous eight years on the Titans staff as a quality control or position coach. His promotion to OC came when Matt LaFleur left Tennessee to become the head coach at Green Bay.
Less than two years (and 18 regular season games) after said promotion, Smith’s name is starting to surface with analysts when it comes to head coaching positions for the 2021 season.
Take this tweet from ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, for example:
The @Titans OC Arthur Smith is going to be a HC soon. Like 2021 soon
Titans ranks since Tannehill became starter (Week 7 of 2019):
Yards per play (1st)
Red zone % (1st)
3rd down % (T-2nd)
Efficiency (3rd)
Yards (3rd)
Scoring (4th) @PaulHembo— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 21, 2020
As Orlovsky points out, the offense has been clicking on all cylinders ever since Ryan Tannehill took over for Marcus Mariota last October. The Titans’ offense is averaging 29.4 points per game in 12 regular season games with Tannehill as starter. The team holds a 9-3 record in those games.
The NFL has become an offensive-driven league. And if your offense is consistently performing like the Titans’ is right now, there’s a chance your coordinator’s name could pop up in coaching rumors as the offseason draws nearer.
So, could Arthur Smith be a head coach soon? Like, 2021 soon? ESPN NFL Analyst Tim Hasselbeck thinks so.
“I think he could easily be a head coach,” said Hasselbeck, who appears with Darren, Daunic and Chase every Wednesday at 12 pm on ESPN 102.5 The Game.
“Ryan Tannehill’s experience and success level in Miami was up and down. But since taking over as the starting quarterback for the Titans, with Arthur Smith designing and calling the plays, he’s been amazing. That’s different than saying ‘I was Peyton Manning’s OC or I was Tom Brady’s OC or I was Aaron Rodgers’ OC.’ Those are two very different things.”
Tannehill’s quarterback rating while in Miami was 87.0 over the span of six years. With Tennessee, that rating is a whopping 118.1. Some of that night-and-day difference for Tannehill has been credited to Smith.
“I think it will be impossible to ignore him as a legitimate candidate,” Hasselbeck said, “if they continue with similar success this season.”
To hear the full interview with Tim Hasselbeck, you can listen here:
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