New Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith strikes a different note than his predecessor Matt Canada in a number of key ways. Alex Kozora laid many of them out yesterday in his big book on Smith, but I wanted to elaborate on one point that jumped out to me. It comes down to philosophy, understanding. And Smith has had a big-picture mind for the game before he ever called plays.
Smith is a teacher, whereas Canada is a general. You don’t ask a general why you’re doing something; you just do it. Smith wants you to know why he is asking you to do something so that you can best execute it.