Steelers Pressed to Make Splash Hire

PITTSBURGH -- Following a disappointing season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team will go through yet another offseason full of changes. Changes are expected to come both on the roster and within the team staff.

Ray Fittipaldo, Steelers writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, believes that the Steelers could benefit by adding an assistant in a consulting role.

The Steelers have done so before, when they added Brian Flores as a defensive assistant for the 2022 season. Now, Fittipaldo believes they could make a similar move again. He cites the fact that incoming New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel spent this past season with the Cleveland Browns as an assistant to back up his argument.

"Some assistants will go. They just haven't been announced or leaked out yet", Fittipaldo wrote. "As far as major moves go, maybe Tomlin can get one of the coaches who doesn't land a head coaching job. The Browns added Mike Vrabel last year as a consultant. The Steelers should do that this year with some coaches who are currently out of a job".

There is a decent amount of coaches available without a job that could benefit from a short-term job with the Steelers organization. One option is former Saints head coach Dennis Allen. Another such option is Mike McCarthy, whose firing from the Dallas Cowboys came as a surprise to some due to his success in the prior seasons with the team.

McCarthy was born and raised in the Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and grew up a Steelers fan. He spent three years with the University of Pittsburgh football team as both a graduate assistant and wide receivers coach. As a coach with an offensive background, McCarthy could bring a spark to a Steelers team that has lacked much of anything on that side of the ball.

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