Steelers zero in on offensive and defensive coordinator candidates, lining up interviews with key NFL assistants to build Mike McCarthy's new staff.
Pardon the cliché, but Mike McCarthy’s phone blew up Saturday when reports surfaced that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to hire him as their head coach.
McCarthy got texts and calls from family, friends, and colleagues around the NFL. The volume of congratulatory messages surpassed the number he received when his Green Bay Packers capped the 2010 season by beating the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
Some of those who reached out to McCarthy were also seeking jobs, knowing he would need to assemble a coaching staff.
“The last 48, 72 hours have been about the staff,” McCarthy said on Tuesday during his introductory news conference. “So, I mean, it's just nonstop. Trying to make it fit together. And it's more difficult to put a staff together today than it was six years ago, and definitely 20 years ago."
Many NFL assistant coaches have multi-year contracts. That is a contrast to when McCarthy started as the Packers’ head coach in 2006, and most assistants were on one-year deals.
McCarthy and general manager Omar Khan are not wasting time in scheduling interviews. Pittsburgh has received permission from the Dallas Cowboys to speak with tight ends coach Lunda Wells about the offensive coordinator position. As for the defensive coordinator opening, the Steelers want to talk with Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham and Washington Commanders pass game coordinator Jason Simmons.
Wells was on the Cowboys’ staff during each of McCarthy’s five seasons as coach from 2020-24. Brian Schottenheimer retained Wells after replacing McCarthy.
Graham joined the Packers as their defensive coordinator in 2018, which was McCarthy’s last season in Green Bay. Graham has also been DC with the Miami Dolphins (2019), the New York Giants (2020-21), and the Raiders (2022-25).
Simmons has a history with the Steelers as he was their fifth-round draft pick in 1998 from Arizona State. He was a defensive back in the NFL for 10 seasons, playing four years with Pittsburgh (1998-2001) and six years with the Houston Texans (2002-07).
Furthermore, Simmons began his coaching career in 2011 on McCarthy's staff and stayed with the Packers through 2019.
Arthur Smith was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons and has moved on to the same job at Ohio State. Teryl Austin spent the last four seasons as defensive coordinator and has interviewed for the same job with the Commanders, though Washington will reportedly hire Minnesota Vikings pass game coordinator Daronte Jones.
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