In late March, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin put Russell Wilson in the “pole position” to win the starting quarterback job. On Tuesday, Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith reiterated that point.
“Russ is in the pole position,” Smith said Tuesday, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “It’s a competition. Obviously, we get to Latrobe, I’m sure things will heat up, but both those guys knew that, however they were acquired, and they got here and I think it’s been pretty transparent.”
Pole position is far from unquestioned QB1. Pole position is something akin to a head start. An edge. An advantage. But how many times does the car in pole position not win the race?
Whether it’s Wilson or Justin Fields when the season starts (or as it unfolds), Smith enjoys having the ability to install a new offense with a new depth chart at quarterback.
“It’s probably easier than if you get a job like this and there’s a guy that’s maybe been here 10 years,” Smith said. “They may have a certain way they’ve done things. . . . We’re all new. And so that’s been fun.”
Smith is generally happy to be in Pittsburgh. While some Steelers fans bristle at the notion that the offense has been entrusted to a guy who didn’t make it as a head coach, Smith did well enough as a coordinator in Tennessee to become a head coach in the first place. And the bar is pretty low in Pittsburgh, post-Matt Canada.
Regardless of whether it’s Wilson or Fields or some of both, there’s reason to believe the offense will be better in 2024. In part because it really can’t be much worse.
