Russell Wilson addresses the reported dysfunction between him and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers started off on great terms.

But things didn’t end so well, with five straight losses and another first-round exit in the playoffs.

That prompted some end-of-season reporting that cast a dark shadow over much of Pittsburgh’s culture and highlighted a not-so-great relationship between Russell Wilson and OC Arthur Smith. Wilson pushed back against that on Wednesday…

Russell Wilson denies report of dysfunctional relationship with Arthur Smith

“Yea, I like Arthur,” said Russell Wilson when asked about the report of he and the OC having beef. “Anytime you lose a game or two, or whatever goes on, people always try to tear things down. I think Arthur is a great coach. Obviously he has been a head coach, and we love trying to find ways to compete every day and just get better. So,he’s a great coach.”

The reported riff stemmed from the working relationship between Wilson and Smith, both of whom stated they had a strong bond, yet that wasn’t reported to be the case per Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show…

Reports surfaced during the year that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith preferred Fields over Wilson but that was never substantiated. Still, despite Wilson and Smith spending countless hours together after the typical workday watching film and publicly joking about it, a team source recently said that Wilson and Smith did not have a very good working relationship but fought through their differences as best they could. It’s unknown whether or not that relationship will weigh in on the decision moving forward from either side.

Wilson made his plans for the future very clear on the Pat McAfee Show. He enviosned himself ending his career in Pittsburgh, and he said that he and the team had already begun contact discussions on Wednesday. But with the New York Jets naming their HC minutes after Wilson’s statement, all signs lead to Arthur Smith staying in Pittsburgh, meaning something may have to give.