First Call: Arthur Smith interviews for Steelers’ OC job; another potential candidate is off the board
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Monday’s “First Call” gives us another candidate for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ vacant offensive coordinator position. A former target is no longer available. A wide receiver draft prospect is getting some attention from the Steelers.
The Duquesne women’s basketball team had an eventful win Sunday. And the Robert Morris hockey team earned a solid road victory over the weekend.
Asking about Arthur
Former Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith has been interviewed for the Steelers offensive coordinator job. The team made that announcement public on Sunday.
We have interviewed Arthur Smith for our offensive coordinator position.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 28, 2024
Smith was 7-10 all three years he was with the Falcons from 2021-23. Prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee.
In 2019, with Smith at the helm, the Titans offense finished 10th in the NFL in points per game. With Derrick Henry carrying the load, Tennessee wound up with 138.9 rushing yards per game, third best in the NFL.
Only Baltimore had a better rushing attack in 2020, as the Titans put up 168.1 yards per contest. The club was fourth in points at 30.7. Henry had 3,567 yards rushing over those two seasons. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a passer rating of 110 over those two years and was 18-8.
So yinz can see where the Steelers would be going with this if Smith is the hire, right? Heavy personnel. Lean on Najee Harris with Jaylen Warren sprinkled in. Get Kenny Pickett booting and throwing on the move.
Good ol’ fashioned AFC North, Stiller football n’at!
It certainly would not be groundbreaking, but playing toward the roster construction they currently have.
Which, especially from the quarterback end of things, leads one to ask, do you really want to cater to a QB whose skills are limited to the point that you are hiring a coordinator whose best attribute is an ability to minimize the exposure of a marginal quarterback?
That’s as opposed to finding a coordinator whose best attribute is to get the most out of a quarterback. Such as, basically, anyone who has worked in San Francisco (like Klint Kubiak) over the past few years with Brock Purdy.
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Off the board
Meanwhile, it appears another candidate the Steelers wanted to interview is no longer available.
According to multiple reports, Zac Robinson is going to be the offensive coordinator in Atlanta on Raheem Morris’ staff. Morris took over when Smith was fired.
In a social media post, Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer said it’s a three-year contract for Robinson, who had previously been the passing game coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams on Sean McVay’s staff in L.A. He also stated the Steelers were hoping to interview Robinson in person but never did.
New Falcons OC Zac Robinson is getting a 3-year contract. He interviewed with the Bears, Patriots and Saints virtually; and the Saints, Raiders and Steelers wanted to interview him in-person.
Instead, he gets a strong deal, and does what he'd hoped to, going with Raheem Morris.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 28, 2024
According to Peter Schrager of the NFL Network, Robinson took the job 20 minutes after his second child was born on Saturday.
One to remember
The Steelers need depth at wide receiver. Perhaps Joshua Cephus could help.
He played at the University of Texas, San Antonio. According to Steelersdepot.com, his agent said that the Steelers have now met with him twice — once at the Hula Bowl and again at the Shrine Bowl.
Over five years with the Roadrunners, Cephus had 313 receptions, 3,365 yards and 28 touchdowns.
When your late round deep diving looking for X WR prospects because each class just never has enough X archetype WR prospects.
I present you to just an awe-inspiring roadrunner (#UTSA pun intended)
Joshua Cephus playing X WR here. TALK ABOUT A CATCH!pic.twitter.com/W7niDntqsN
— Jordan Silveira (@JordanTSilveira) January 22, 2024
Cephus is 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. In 2023, he caught 89 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns, which were among the top receiving numbers in the American Conference. He was named MVP of the Frisco Bowl after a seven-catch, 102-yard performance against Marshall.
Hitting the marks
The Duquesne women’s basketball team won a game and hit a couple of milestones on Sunday afternoon.
The Dukes beat Loyola Chicago 73-57 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Precious Johnson led the charge with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ayanna Townsend added 11 points and five rebounds. She passed 1,000 career points along the way.
1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣
With her 2Q bucket, Ayanna Townsend reaches the 1,000 point mark in her career!#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/1fNphJ5iua
— Duquesne Women's Basketball (@DuqWBB) January 28, 2024
The victory was also Dan Burt’s 200th career win. He’s the first coach in the program’s history to eclipse 200 career wins at Duquesne. Just four days ago, Burt captured his 100th Atlantic 10 victory with a 72-59 win over Richmond to move into the top 10 in conference history. He holds an all-time record of 200-127 (.612) in his 11 seasons as a head coach while posting a 101-63 (.624) mark in conference games.
The Dukes next play at VCU on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.
Good split
The Robert Morris Colonials went on the road and got a split against one of the better teams in Atlantic Hockey.
The Colonials, at 7-18-3 in their reboot season, beat American International College in Springfield on Friday night, 2-0. Francis Boisvert got his first career win and shutout in the process, stopping all 50 shots he faced.
Tanner Klimpke and McKay Hayes scored the Colonials goals.
GOAL ????
Sweet wrister by Tanner Klimpke‼️
RMU 1 – 0 AIC #BobbyMo #AHA20 pic.twitter.com/CUF1MdsX3f
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) January 26, 2024
GOAL ????
Klimpke ➡️ Hayes
RMU 2 – 0 AIC#BobbyMo #AHA20 pic.twitter.com/eic3f3IPOm
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) January 26, 2024
AIC bounced back to win the second game Saturday, 5-2. They have 31 points, good for fifth the Atlantic. RMU (15 points, 11th place) has a home-and-home series against Mercyhurst next weekend. The first game is up in Erie on Friday. The series shifts back to Neville Island on Saturday at 7 p.m.