At this point, it doesn’t sound like the Pittsburgh Steelers are making any major coaching subtractions. Perhaps some moves will come, but OC Arthur Smith and DC Teryl Austin are poised to return in 2025, while HC Mike Tomlin is obviously staying.
So perhaps the next best thing the team could do is add. We noted Pittsburgh had the smallest coaching staff in 2024, and while there’s no direct correlation between more staff members and winning, the Steelers adding a couple of names would have benefits. There are always pros and cons to adding or subtracting to a coaching staff. You need to find quality coaches and not just hit quotas, while messaging and philosophy have to be aligned. But teams that do that really benefit.
Trying to pick out names is tough in a busy and messy hiring cycle. The dust may have to settle before Pittsburgh jumps in. In the big picture, here are four areas the team should consider adding.
Run Defense Specialist
This one is a little unusual, and I don’t know how many teams have someone with this title. But I’d want Pittsburgh to add a former linebacker or defensive coach who can be a catch-all assistant but focuses on run defense, just like the Steelers designate certain assistants to specific parts of the game. Mike Sullivan is the YAC coach, and Grady Brown is in charge of turnover culture.
Including Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have eight defensive coaches. Half of them, four, have a secondary background. Tomlin is a former defensive backs coach. As is DC Teryl Austin. Obviously, that is Grady Brown’s forte, as is defensive assistant Anthony Midget. That’s a heavy concentration in one area. Pittsburgh has seen some benefit from that. They’ve been able to problem solve in some tricky situations like 2023 when they suffered a rash of injuries at safety and survived.
But for a run defense that wilted by year’s end, including giving up 299 rushing yards in the Wild Card loss to Baltimore, the most Pittsburgh’s ever allowed in the postseason, they need some help. Much of that will come from personnel, they need to invest in the d-line and revamp the group, but adding a coach to help the front is worth while.
Pittsburgh has well-respected coaches in DL Coach Karl Dunbar and a possible riser in ILBs Coach Aaron Curry, and they did bring in Jason Brooks as a quality control coach; he has a D-line/linebacker background. But a big-time pedigree name in the same vein as Mike Vrabel, someone looking for a job after missing out on other more prominent opportunities, would be a big win. Again, who that could be is difficult to say. The smoke has to clear and staffs across the league must form.
If you want me to make a wild guess, and it’s truly that, Marvin Lewis? He probably won’t be part of the Raiders’ new coaching staff. He was previously a linebackers coach in Pittsburgh and is from the area.
Experienced OLB Coach
For years, Pittsburgh had DL Coach Karl Dunbar pull double duty to coach the D-line and the EDGE rushers. And he’s still actively involved in the group. But they promoted Denzel Martin from assistant to the official title of Outside Linebackers Coach for 2024. Martin is an energetic coach and perhaps a good one, but he’s young, and I’d like to get a veteran to lead the group. Pittsburgh’s pass rush production has decreased despite having plenty of talent and depth.
Adding a veteran here would take the load off Dunbar (or the next D-line coach if they make a change here) and put Martin back in an assistant role he’s probably a little better suited for at this stage of his career. Maybe the team could even entertain one of the pass rush gurus like the Baltimore Ravens did in adding Chuck Smith this offseason. Could Pittsburgh look towards Dez Walker, who has worked with Cam Heyward, Nick Herbig, and a bunch of draft prospects each year? Who knows if Walker would want the job? Some of these guys prefer to be independent rather than work for a team, but it’s an avenue for the team to explore.
Run Game Coordinator
In past years and possibly the present, the Steelers have designated the o-line coach the run game coordinator and ostensibly left the offensive coordinator more in charge of the quarterbacks and passing game. Maybe that has to change. Perhaps the team should have a designated run game coordinator in the hopes of boosting that unit. I’d even be open to a passing game specialist. Another offensive mind in that room to perhaps see the bigger picture instead of the minutia of the week-to-week and individual player technique.
Special Teams Coach Assistant
I know Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith receives help. He’s not a one-man band, but he’s pretty close to it. Pittsburgh remains the only NFL team to have just one coach with “special teams” in their title. Maybe it’s time for a change.
The Steelers’ special teams did a lot of great things this season including K Chris Boswell’s historic season. However, the unit also faded down the stretch with leaky coverage units while the kick return game was the NFL’s worst all season. Maybe a coach can focus there as the NFL continues to tweak its new kickoff rules.
As much as I’m Team Danny Smith Forever, he’s not getting younger. He’s a football lifer and admitted he has zero hobbies but he can’t coach forever. Finding a possible heir, at least someone internal to evaluate once Smith hangs up his whistle, would be smart while providing an immediate benefit of additional help.
