The coach who gave Arthur Smith his first opportunity to be an offensive coordinator is happy to see Smith now coaching at Ohio State.
When Matt LaFleur left the Tennessee Titans to become the head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 2019, Mike Vrabel promoted Smith – who had been an assistant with the Titans since 2011 – to be their offensive coordinator. Smith served in that capacity for two seasons, in which the Titans’ offense ranked among the NFL’s best, before becoming the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2021.
Smith and Vrabel remain friends to this day, and Vrabel – an Ohio State alum – joked that Smith will be hearing from him if Ohio State’s offense doesn’t perform up to expectations.
“Arthur’s a friend, so I talk to him often. Got a lot of respect for him as a coach, but not only that, as a person and as a friend. So for all the Ohio State fans, I guess we have somebody to complain to if they don't score 50 points a game like every other Buckeye fan does,” Vrabel, who’s now the coach of the New England Patriots, said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
That said, Vrabel expects Smith to do great work as Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator. Asked what the Buckeyes are getting from their new offensive play caller, Vrabel said Smith – who was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator for the last two years – will bring toughness, physicality and aggression to the Buckeyes’ offense.
“I think Arthur's got a physicality to him, a toughness to him that he wants to put onto the football field offensively,” Vrabel said. “He's created enough, has worked with a number of different players, that I think they enjoy some of the wrinkles that he has. I think he's got some core concepts that he enjoys. And he's always been an aggressive play caller.”
Vrabel, who played for the Buckeyes from 1993 to 1996, knows firsthand what it’s like to be an assistant coach at Ohio State. In the first coaching jobs of his career, Vrabel was Ohio State’s linebackers coach under Luke Fickell in 2011 and the Buckeyes’ defensive line coach in 2012 and 2013. But Vrabel, who’s spoken often about how much he’s grown as a coach from who he was when he was at Ohio State to now being a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, said he won’t be giving Smith any advice based on his own experiences coaching for the Buckeyes.
“I didn't know anything, so I'm certainly not going to give him any advice. I think what he does is going to be plenty,” Vrabel said. “And that's to put the players first, make connections with them, do what the players do best.”
“I think Arthur's got a physicality to him, a toughness to him that he wants to put onto the football field offensively.” – Mike Vrabel on new Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith
That said, Vrabel will certainly be rooting for his former protégé to be successful in Columbus.
“I'm excited for him to be in Columbus,” Vrabel said. “Obviously, that place means a lot to me personally and my family. So having gone there and lived there, I support him.”
