After reportedly clashing with quarterback Russell Wilson down the stretch of the 2024 season and even reportedly keeping him from changing plays at the line of scrimmage, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith might have an even bigger headache on his hands at the quarterback position in 2025.
That would be Aaron Rodgers, who visited the Steelers Friday and reportedly spent nearly six hours at the facility meeting with the likes of owner and team president Art Rooney II, GM Omar Khan, head coach Mike Tomlin, and Smith.
With the way the Steelers’ 2024 season ended and how their relationship with Wilson seemingly soured, there are many questioning if Smith is willing to take a backseat in 2025 if Rodgers comes in as the starting quarterback. After all, Rodgers likes to do things his way and wants to be in certain formations with certain route concepts.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor raised that question Friday during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan and added that Smith would have his hands full with Rodgers.
But the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, who appeared on the 102.5 WDVE Morning Show Monday, gets the sense that Smith is excited to potentially work with Rodgers and that the Steelers won’t be turning over the offense to Rodgers entirely.
“You know, that was kind of the question early on that I had that if Arthur Smith had some issues with some of the things that Russell Wilson was doing, maybe on his own, how would he then feel about having a guy even more established, which is hard to say with Russell Wilson, but a guy whose credentials were even greater than Russell Wilson? How would he feel about that? The sense that I’ve gotten is that Arthur Smith is excited to work with Aaron Rodgers,” Dulac said, according to audio via 102.5 WDVE. “He met with him the other day as well. I was told that visit was went very well.
“So yeah, I had that same question. I don’t know, they’re certainly not gonna bring in Aaron Rodgers and put the reins on him like Matt Canada wanted to do with Ben Roethlisberger, but Arthur Smith has controlled the offense, and they’re certainly not gonna turn the offense over to Aaron Rodgers solely. But we’ll see how that dynamic works, if at all, if this whole thing pans out for him coming here.”
It’s a fair question to ask, especially after Smith and Wilson reportedly clashed in the midst of a five-game losing streak. That clash reportedly came after Wilson threw for 414 yards in a shootout win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 on the road. The Steelers won the following week against Cleveland, but the road trip to Philadelphia in Week 15 kick-started the five-game losing streak to end the year. Now the Steelers and Wilson are seemingly moving in different directions.
With Rodgers, he’s a guy who has wanted control of the offense throughout his career, clashing with the likes of Mike McCarthy, Matt LaFleur and even Robert Saleh at times in New York. Of course, the Jets went out and hired his former coordinator in Nathaniel Hackett hoping he would be able to get Rodgers playing at a high level, but that move crashed and burned.
In Pittsburgh, Rodgers would be playing in a run-first scheme under Smith, one that leans on play-action passing and utilizing the middle of the field. It’s not a perfect fit, but it can work for a year, at least.
It would help if the two were able to put egos aside and work together. Based on what Dulac is saying, that seems possible — at least right now. That could all change once the season gets underway, should Rodgers be the quarterback for the Black and Gold.
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