The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a great start to the 2025 season so far. If this trend keeps up, they may enter unfamiliar territory: losing key coaches to better roles on other teams. It already happened after 2024, with inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry getting poached by the New York Jets to work with all of their linebackers. As unfortunate as it would be to lose certain individuals, it would still be nice to know that Pittsburgh made the right hires, and it would put more faith in the organization’s ability to hire their replacements.

On “NFL Gameday Kickoff,” respected NFL insider Ian Rapoport announced on Monday evening the early candidates to be interviewed for the Tennessee Titans’ freshly available head coach position, as the franchise has officially fired Brian Callahan after its Week 6 loss. One of those names that came up was one of the most respected members of the Steelers’ coaching staff.

“A couple names to watch: I would say Matt Nagy, who worked with Mike Borgonzi in Kansas City, certainly a name to watch — the decorated Chiefs offensive coordinator,” Rapoport said. “Arthur Smith, the former Falcons Head Coach, also a former OC in Tennessee.”

Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is seen as one of the brighter offensive minds in the NFL currently, as there is a lot of respect for his resume around the league. While that is great news for Pittsburgh for the 2025 season, that also means that his name will likely pop up in some form when the yearly interview process occurs in January. It’s only the middle of October, and his name is already being discussed around the sport.

Smith was the tight ends coach with the Titans for many years before being promoted to offensive coordinator. Under him, elite running back Derrick Henry had two of his best seasons of his career, including a 2,000-yard campaign. Ever since he left, there has been a revolving door at the position, with coaches getting fired and hired ad nauseam. They could use a stable offensive mind.

He left to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and his reputation seemed to tank there a little bit. He seemed to get too cute as the play-caller and leader of the team. After three seasons of no sort of development, he was fired. The Steelers brought him on early in 2024, and he has been a breath of fresh air for the black and gold.

The biggest question for the Titans is if Smith has learned from his previous failures as head coach. If the answer is yes, then it would not be shocking to see him go back to his old stomping ground and try to turn the franchise around. If not, then he can continue thriving with the Steelers and being the NFL mind that they have desperately needed for years.

If the Titans do come calling, Smith could definitely be intrigued enough to go back to his home state with a raise in hand and being closer to his large family. He may not be from the city of Nashville, but it’s still closer to Memphis than any other NFL team is. Maybe he would like the shorter, quicker trips down I-40 to go back to his roots.

Steelers could have another old friend calling Arthur Smith’s name

While the North Carolina Tar Heels have not bought out Bill Belichick yet, it could happen sooner rather than later. After it tried to hire Smith in 2025 and failed, the school could try again to bring him back to his alma mater. The former Tar Heel lineman may have a tough choice this offseason: go home, go back to his old school, stay in Pittsburgh, or take other jobs with more exciting teams.