The Steelers are looking to bring in another assistant new head coach Mike McCarthy has plenty of familiarity with.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Pittsburgh plans to interview New Orleans quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien for its offensive coordinator vacancy.
Tolzien, 38, played under McCarthy as a backup quarterback for the Packers from 2013-2015. Tolzien then coached under McCarthy with the Cowboys from 2020-2024, first as a coaching assistant and then as the team’s QBs coach for his last two seasons there.
In 2025, Tolzien worked with rookie Tyler Shough, helping him finish the season having completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 2,384 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in 11 games with nine starts.
Steelers Clips
The Steelers are continuing to round out their coaching staff with an assistant from the AFC West.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers are close to hiring Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator.
Graham, 47, had been with the Raiders since 2022 when he was hired by Josh McDaniels to be the club’s defensive coordinator. He stayed on under former Raiders coaches Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll.
Graham previously worked for the Patriots from 2009-2015 as a defensive assistant. He then was the Giants’ defensive line coach from 2016-2017 before McCarthy hired him in 2018 to be Green Bay’s linebackers coach and run game coordinator.
From there, Graham was the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator in 2019 and the Giants’ assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 2020-2021.
Additionally, Dulac reports McCarthy is looking to hire former Packers offensive line coach James Campen and former Cowboys assistant line coach Ramon Chinyoung. McCarthy is also expected to retain three members of former head coach Mike Tomlin’s staff: linebackers coach Scott McCurley, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth, and secondary coach Gerald Alexander.
A former Steelers player and Mike McCarthy assistant is set to interview for the vacant defensive coordinator position in Pittsburgh.
Longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly reports that Commanders defensive pass game coordinator Jason Simmons will interview with the team.
Simmons was a Steelers fifth-round pick in 1998 and he played 51 games for the team before moving on to Houston for the final six years of his playing career. He joined McCarthy’s staff in Green Bay in 2011 as a defensive assistant and eventually became the Packers’ defensive backs coach.
Simmons remained with the Packers through 2019 and moved on to stints with the Panthers and Raiders before joining the Commanders in 2024.
The Rams had issues with their special teams all season, including a crucial muffed punt in their NFC Championship Game loss to the Seahawks, and they are working to find a new coach for those units.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that they have requested an interview with Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone for the same role on Sean McVay’s staff. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the Steelers have made the same request.
Ventrone also had an assistant head coach title during his three seasons on Cleveland’s staff. He has also coached for the Colts and Patriots since concluding a playing career that saw him spend time with the 49ers, Browns, and Patriots.
The Browns news comes shortly after the Browns announced the hiring of Todd Monken as their new head coach. The team already has a vacancy at offensive coordinator and passing on promoting defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz could leave the team with openings at all three coordinator spots.
The Steelers are in a similar position after hiring Mike McCarthy over the weekend.
The Steelers have found a receivers coach.
Per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media, Pittsburgh is hiring Adam Henry for the role under new head coach Mike McCarthy.
Henry, 53, spent the last three seasons as Buffalo’s receivers coach. He previously worked under McCarthy with the Cowboys from 2020-2021.
Henry has also spent time with the Raiders, 49ers, and Giants as a coach in the league.
Since the days of quarterbacks calling their own plays (yes, it used to be that way), the Steelers have never had a head coach who called the offensive plays.
They now do.
Mike McCarthy, in his introductory press conference, was asked whether he’ll handle those duties.
“Definitely, I will call the plays on offense, and so obviously will run the offense,” McCarthy said.
The offense has been more of a liability than a strength since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. Even in 2025, with Aaron Rodgers playing quarterback, the Steelers ranked 25th in total offense, at 305.6 yards per game. The Steelers were 15th in scoring, with 23.4 points per game.
So McCarthy will have his work cut out for him, regardless of whether Rodgers returns for another year.
They spent more than a decade together in Green Bay. New Steelers coach Mike McCarthy wants that relationship to resume, and to continue.
During his introductory press conference, McCarthy was asked whether it’s his “personal preference,” in light of the “best-case scenario,” whether he wants quarterback Aaron Rodgers to return for 2026.
“I mean, definitely,” McCarthy said. “I mean, obviously, [I don’t know] why you wouldn’t. But, you know, I think just like anything, knowing Aaron long enough, going through seasons . . . when guys are up at that stage of their career, they need to step away and decompress. I think that’s very important. The game is so emotional. What these men commit to and what they put into it. I think that time away is important.
“And I have spoken to Aaron, and so that’s really where we are there. But I was able to sit back and watch the games. I watched most of the Pittsburgh games on TV, and I thought he was a great asset for the team.”
McCarthy was later asked if there’s a timeline for both the team and Rodgers to make a decision.
“Timelines, we haven’t discussed that yet,” McCarthy said.
They’ll need to discuss it fairly soon. Free agency starts in six weeks. If the Steelers will be looking for another veteran quarterback, they’ll need to have a plan.
Of course, they could do what the Steelers did in 2025 — prepare to go forward with the guys they have (Will Howard and Mason Rudolph) and wait for Rodgers.
“I’m really excited about Will Howard,” McCarthy said. “I think he’s someone that I thought he really came on at Ohio State. I’m anxious to work with him, so it’d be great to have Aaron back, but Will and Mason, I’m really excited to get started with those guys.”
A year ago, coach Mike Tomlin seemed to know all along that Rodgers would sign in time for the mandatory minicamp in June. Which made the Steelers content to sit tight with Rudolph as the Plan B and Howard as the sixth-round rookie acquired during the draft. This year, it remains to be seen whether there will be a wink-nod that Rodgers will skip the voluntary portion of the offseason program before showing up, or whether he’ll take more time before giving the team an official or unofficial decision.
The first question is whether Rodgers wants to return to a team that doesn’t have Tomlin in charge. Tomlin seemed to be the main reason for Rodgers’s decision in 2025. This year, Rodgers may choose to explore other options before making a decision, with retirement always a real possibility.
One of Mike McCarthy’s assistants with the Cowboys is expected to be in the mix to join him in Pittsburgh.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells is expected to interview for the offensive coordinator position on McCarthy’s Steelers staff. Wells coached the tight ends for all five of McCarthy’s seasons in Dallas before staying on the staff under Brian Schottenheimer.
The Commanders requested an interview with Wells before promoting David Blough to offensive coordinator this month.
Wells spent eight seasons on the Giants’ staff before moving to Dallas in 2020. He also coached at LSU before making the move into the NFL ranks.
The Cowboys are allowing new defensive coordinator Christian Parker to hire his own staff, something that doesn’t always happen in Dallas.
The Cowboys fired defensive passing game coordinator/safeties coach Andre Curtis, secondary/cornerbacks coach David Overstreet II and linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports.
The Cowboys interviewed Steelers outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin for the same role, Jordan Schultz of Schultz Report reports.
Martin joined the Steelers staff in 2016 and worked his way up to outside linebackers coach.
The Cowboys also interviewed Eagles assistant linebackers coach Ronell Williams, who was the Cowboys’ nickel cornerbacks coach in 2023, Todd Archer of ESPN reports. The team is also interviewing Vikings defensive line coach Marcus Dixon, who was with Parker in Denver.
The NFL named Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter and safety Calen Bullock to the Pro Bowl Games on Monday, the team announced.
Both players were first alternates.
Lassiter replaces Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who is unavailable after his team won the AFC title, and Bullock will fill in for Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey.
Lassiter and Bullock join teammates Derek Stingley Jr., Nico Collins, Azeez Al-Shaair and Will Anderson Jr. on the Pro Bowl Games roster.
The Texans ranked sixth in pass defense this season and first in total defense.
Lassiter totaled 91 tackles, four interceptions and 17 passes defensed.
Bullock intercepted four passes during the regular season and had another in the playoffs. He totaled 64 tackles, one forced fumble and 10 passes defensed.
