First Call: Steelers meeting with standout center at Senior Bowl; a team that also may have wanted Arthur Smith

Thursday’s “First Call” has some background on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ hiring of Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator. The Steelers are meeting with a topflight center at the Senior Bowl. Ravens coaches are leaving Baltimore in a hurry.

A former Penguins front office executive just got a contract extension in Vancouver. And a Penguins Hall of Famer just watched his grandson win gold for the USA.

Behind the scenes

Some have criticized the Steelers for hiring Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator too quickly. After all, the team had only interviewed two other candidates: Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson.

The way “Monday Morning Quarterback’s” Albert Breer tells it, Mike Tomlin was worried about letting Smith go down to Tampa Bay for his next interview that was looming with the Buccaneers.

“He met with Tomlin on Monday and into Tuesday, with plans to travel to Tampa on Tuesday night and interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC job. But with Smith’s run-game ingenuity, overall offensive creativity, and work with quarterbacks, the Steelers and Tomlin saw the fit, and then worked to make sure he wouldn’t get on the plane to Florida,” Breer said.

The Steelers actually announced that they interviewed Smith on Sunday. So that timeline may be off by a day. Nonetheless, it sounds like the team was dead set on securing Smith’s services before another franchise could get in his ear. Breer says at least six teams had an interest in Smith for an assistant’s job of some variety.

Breer added that “Smith wanted to go to a place that would offer stability, and a chance to learn from the head coach, and Pittsburgh offered both of those things. So he gave Mike Tomlin his word that the Steelers would be his first visit.”

OK, if that’s the case, I don’t see the harm in letting Smith look elsewhere as the Steelers considered their search further as well. But it almost sounds as if the Steelers had their minds made up on Smith before he ever landed in Pittsburgh and their two other interviews were nothing but formalities.

Leader at the turn

There already seems to be a fan favorite when it comes to Steelers draft hype. And it’s Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson.

I, uh, can’t say that I disagree with the masses here. The Steelers need help at the position. And the Ducks offensive lineman has some good tape.

Here is 2 minutes of Jackson Powers Johnson (@BigJax58) physically manhandling his opponent

Down blocks
Reach blocks
Double teams
Second level
On the move
Pass pro

Lots of s on the film. pic.twitter.com/bDAeqNEtys

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 31, 2024

According to SteelersDepot.com, he was scheduled to meet with the Steelers a second time Wednesday evening at the Senior Bowl.

“Talked to Coach Tomlin yesterday a little bit,” Powers-Johnson told Jonathan Heitritter. “Just introduced myself, said hello. I had an interview with them, I think, two days ago. I think I have an interview with them tonight as well.”

Powers-Johnson is 6-foot-3, 334 pounds. He only started full time at center for one full season at Oregon but won the Rimington Trophy as the best college player at the position. He was also All-Pac-12 and a unanimous All-American.

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Nest looking empty

Some Baltimore Ravens are flying the coop.

The Steelers’ archrivals are dealing with quite a few coaching departures. First, their defensive coordinator, Mike McDonald, is leaving to take the head coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks. The team made that announcement on Wednesday. ESPN reports it’s a six-year deal.

Now Bleacher Report is reporting that the Tennessee Titans are making Ravens defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson their new defensive coordinator. ProFootballTalk.com states that he also drew interest from the Packers, Rams and Giants.

The Ravens were No. 1 in points allowed, sacks and takeaways in 2023. That was McDonald’s second season as Baltimore’s coordinator.

Cashing in with Canucks

Former Penguins assistant general manager Patrik Allvin is getting an extension in Vancouver. He was hired as GM there in January 2022.

According to TSN, it’s a multi-year deal. As president of the Canucks, it was former Pens general manager Jim Rutherford who brought Allvin out to British Columbia.

“Patrik has done a terrific job in helping us rebuild our hockey team both on and off the ice,” Rutherford said in a team release, “He has worked tirelessly to create a new culture and identity that embodies the important attributes of hard work, structure and dedication. With an ever-present win-the-day mentality, Patrik’s leadership skills will be a key driver for our organization moving forward.”

Rutherford also signed an extension earlier this month. Allvin spent 16 seasons with the Penguins. Vancouver is an NHL-best 33-11-5.

Allvin celebrated the extension by making a trade for Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm. In exchange, Vancouver sent out Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Good genes

The U.S. Youth Olympic Men’s Hockey Team beat Czechia 4-0 to win the gold medal at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea.

One of those who made an impact is Parker Trottier. He is the grandson of Bryan Trottier, a former Penguins Stanley Cup winner and NHL Hall of Famer.

Congratulations to captain Parker Trottier and the golden USA team!

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 31, 2024

Trottier scored twice in regulation to help the Americans beat Canada 6-5 in a shootout during the semifinals.