Steelers owe George Pickens an apology after hiring the worst possible OC for him

The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their next offensive coordinator. While Mike Tomlin has earned the right to hire whichever OC he wants at this juncture of his career, it's fair to wonder exactly what he was thinking.

Smith had some success with the Tennessee Titans offense prior to his tenure as Falcons head coach. With Tennessee, Smith let Derrick Henry run wild, all the while trusting Ryan Tannehill to win the turnover battle. The Steelers offense is similarly set up, though those Titans never made it past the AFC Championship Game.

Tomlin's hire was made to continue winning his way -- low-scoring games where the Steelers control the clock. Pittsburgh has the stable of backs to do so in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. And for all of Kenny Pickett's faults, he doesn't turn the ball over much.

Why don't Steelers fans like the Arthur Smith hire?

If there's one thing the Steelers and Smith-coached offenses have in common, it's not living up to expectations. Pittsburgh is stuck in the past, all the while watching teams headlined by great quarterback play leap them in the standings. The Steelers received a brief preview of what could've been when Mason Rudolph took them to the postseason, and even put up a fight against Josh Allen and the Bills. Apparently Tomlin didn't like that style, after all.

Rudolph is a free agent while Pickett has been tabbed as QB1 entering training camp (already). Smith became synonymous wih wasted talent in Atlanta, as he failed to give Bijan Robinson or Kyle Pitts the necessary touches to thrive. The Falcons also didn't have stable quarterback play for much of his tenure. Are you sensing a theme here?

If there's one thing this Steelers offense does have, it's capable skill-position players. Unfortunately for those players -- namely George Pickens, who would be a breakout candidate with the right play-caller and quarterback -- Pittsburgh made the wrong hire on Tuesday.