Stephen A Smith under fire for bold take about Steelers head coaching job

ESPN personality Stephen A Smith attends CFP National Championship Game

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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Stephen A. Smith is known for delivering bold, often jaw-dropping takes during ESPN's programming, but his latest may have set a new low for some viewers.

During ESPN's "First Take," Smith typically goes off on rants about various sports topics, including the NFL, and he recently called out the Pittsburgh Steelers over their search for a new head coach. Not only that, he delivered a straight-faced statement to the camera about who they should've interviewed for the job, but didn't.

On the Monday, Jan. 26 episode of ESPN's show, Smith appeared from another location, while co-stars Shae Cornette, Ryan Clark, Peter Schrager, and Dan Orlovsky were in the studio.

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"I want to state for the record, and I'm not joking about this, I'm dead serious. I believe that Ryan Clark should've been interviewed for the [Pittsburgh Steelers head coaching] job," Smith said, which drew looks from his co-stars in the studio.

ESPN personality Stephen A Smith attends CFP National Championship Game

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Upon Smith saying this, the camera panned to Clark, who had wide eyes, did a double-take, and seemed genuinely surprised by the idea.

Many commenters reacted to the X account Awful Announcing, which shared a clip of Smith's rant from "First Take," and many appeared to oppose the move or suggested Smith was crazy for suggesting it.

"I wouldnt even interview Ryan Clark to shovel my driveway," one X commenter wrote.

"This may be @stephenasmith worst take of all time. What a joke of a channel," another commenter said.

Another X commenter wrote, "This is the most out of touch sports show in existence. Disney is a clown show."

"Stephen A. has exceeded the scope of his purpose. He brings nothing of value

to sports, and evidently doesn’t know more than the casual fan. It’s embarrassing," a commenter said.

Multiple commenters echoed those sentiments, suggesting Clark wouldn't be a good fit as the Steelers head coach or that Smith's take was horribly wrong.

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His latest rant arrives on the heels of the team hiring former Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike McCarthy as their new head coach, and the Buffalo Bills interviewing former quarterback Philip Rivers to be their next head coach. Rivers recently withdrew from consideration for that job.

Clark, 46, spent 13 seasons in the NFL, eight of which were with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was part of the team when they won Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 under Mike Tomlin.

While it's not unfathomable for NFL teams to consider former players for their head coaching jobs, they might typically want a bit of experience on their resumes, such as coaching staff experience with other teams.

Like Rivers, Clark has no coaching experience to draw on, and the Steelers seemed to have their sights set on a specific type of coach, regardless of whether Smith thinks an interview should've happened.