Jets Hire Steelers' All-Time Leading Receiver Hines Ward as Offensive Assistant

Hines Ward was serving as a coaching intern with the Jets before they promoted him to a full-time position.

The Jets have added a two-time Super Bowl champion to their coaching staff by hiring Steelers legend Hines Ward, the team announced Monday.

Ward was serving as a coaching intern for New York but was promoted to be a full-time offensive assistant.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas had interest in Ward as a coach even before he took his current position.

"It was this summer when Joe said something to me about how they kind of talked about bringing him in at Philly at one point to work in a training camp, and he had done it in Pittsburgh," head coach Adam Gase said in a statement. "When his name came up, he reached out to Hines and then I had a conversation with Hines and we got it done."

Robby Anderson, who is entering his fourth year with New York, said he is picking Ward's brain but "he's more so telling me than I'm asking him."

Ward is Pittsburgh's all-time leader in receptions (1,000), receiving yards (12,083) and receiving touchdowns (85). A third-round pick out of Georgia in 1998, Ward retired following the 2011 season.