The Steelers have agreed to bring in another defensive assistant for new head coach Mike McCarthy.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, C.J. Ah You is expected to become Pittsburgh’s outside linebackers coach.
Ah You has served as outside linebackers coach for Texas Tech since 2022, also serving as the program’s interim defensive coordinator in 2024.
While Ah You has been in coaching since 2015, this will be his first NFL position.
A Bills seventh-round pick in the 2007 draft, Ah You appeared in 33 games with three starts for the Rams from 2009-2011.
Steelers Clips
The Steelers announced the addition of five assistant coaches to Mike McCarthy’s staff on Wednesday afternoon.
Offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio’s hiring headlines the group. Angelichio spent the last four seasons as the passing game coordinator and tight ends coach for the Vikings. He also spent time as the tight ends coach for the Packers during McCarthy’s time as the head coach in Green Bay.
The Steelers also confirmed that they have hired special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and assistant head coach/secondary coach Joe Whitt.
Longtime NFL defensive lineman Domata Peko is joining the team as their defensive line coach. He held the same position at the University of Colorado in 2025 and he worked as a defensive assistant under McCarthy with the Cowboys in 2024.
The Steelers have also hired Pat Reilly as a defensive quality control coach. He was an offensive assistant with the Texans in 2025.
Joe Flacco wrapped up his 18th season with his first trip to the Pro Bowl and the prospect of a 19th season came up during a Wednesday visit to PFT Live.
Flacco said that there are “lots of things that go into” a decision to sign with a team for the 2026 season. At the top of the list is whether or not he will have a chance to get on the field.
“At this point, I don’t want to just sign up with anybody, I don’t want to just play football or be on the sideline for the sake of being out there,” Flacco said.
Flacco opened the 2025 season as the starter in Cleveland and moved on to the Bengals in a trade after Joe Burrow injured his toe. Flacco said he enjoyed his time with the team, but Burrow’s presence would put be an obstacle to starting any more games.
“I like the idea of Cincinnati, but, at the same time, you are resigning to something there,” Flacco said. “There’s a world where I could see that happening, but I have to see what’s out there.”
The move to the Bengals means that Flacco has now played for three of the four AFC North teams. The Steelers have an unsettled quarterback position right now and Flacco called it a “pretty cool idea” to hit every team in the division while reiterating that he’ll have to evaluate every opportunity before making any decisions.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy is bringing in a familiar face to help run the team’s defense.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Joe Whitt Jr. is joining Pittsburgh as assistant head coach/secondary coach.
Whitt previously served under McCarthy with the Packers from 2008-2018. After initially joining the club as a defensive quality control coach, he was promoted to cornerbacks coach in 2009 and defensive passing game coordinator in 2018.
He then worked under McCarthy again with the Cowboys from 2021-2023 as defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach before following Dan Quinn to the Commanders in 2024 to work as the team’s defensive coordinator. But Quinn took back defensive play-calling duties midway through the 2025 season before dismissing Whitt after the conclusion of the season.
The last time NBC broadcast the Super Bowl, Aaron Donald effectively ended the game by pressuring Joe Burrow on fourth-and-1 to force an incompletion and a turnover on downs, sealing the Rams’ victory.
With the big game airing on NBC again on Sunday, Donald will again be featured — but this time before kickoff.
NBC Sports announced on Wednesday that Donald, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, and Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward will all be featured as guest pregame analysts for the network’s broadcast of Super Bowl LX.
The Super Bowl LX Pregame Show airs this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Coverage begins at Noon ET with Road to the Super Bowl.
Maria Taylor serves as the lead host for the pregame show, joined by co-hosts Jac Collinsworth and Noah Eagle. Analysts include Super Bowl champions Tony Dungy, Jason Garrett, Rodney Harrison, and Devin McCourty, as well as former NFL quarterback Chris Simms. PFT’s Mike Florio, NBC News’ Steve Kornacki, NBC Sports fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry, and Access Hollywood’s Kit Hoover round out the pregame team.
Brian Angelichio is close to an agreement with the Steelers to become their offensive coordinator, Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show reports.
Angelichio will become the Steelers’ fourth different offensive coordinator in four seasons. Head coach Mike McCarthy, though, has already said he will call the plays.
Angelichio has spent the past four seasons as the Vikings’ passing game coordinator and tight ends coach under Kevin O’Connell.
He worked with the Packers under McCarthy from 2016-18, as the tight ends coach. Aaron Rodgers was the team’s quarterback.
Angelichio also coached tight ends with the Panthers, Bucs, Browns and Commanders.
The Steelers also interviewed Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells and Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien.
From the moment Lions fan Ryan Kennedy hired counsel in the aftermath of his in-game altercation with Steelers receiver DK Metcalf, it was obvious this was coming.
Kennedy has sued Metcalf and various others, via Christian Romo of USA Today. The lawsuit focused on the alleged assault — and on the statements made about Kennedy following the December 21 incident.
The civil action, filed on Tuesday, targets Metcalf, the Steelers, and Ford Field management in connection with the assault. Metcalf, Shannon Sharpe, Chad Johnson, and Shay Shay Media were sued for defamation.
Johnson said during an episode of the Nightcap podcast that Kennedy provoked Metcalf by using a racial slur, and by using a misogynistic term in reference to Metcalf’s mother.
“The statements were false and reckless,” the lawsuit alleges. “Plaintiff Kennedy did not call Defendant Metcalf the ‘N-word'; did not call Defendant Metcalf mother a ‘c---'; and did not ever use any racial slurs or hate speech whatsoever. . . . Defendant Metcalf provided false information to Defendant Johnson about what Plaintiff Kennedy allegedly said, thereby instigating and authorizing the publication of the defamatory and reckless statements which were intended to harm Plaintiff Kennedy.”
Kennedy seeks $100 million in damages, along with a “full public retraction and correction of defamatory statements” from Johnson and Sharpe.
One offensive assistant coach is headed to a different AFC North squad.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Eddie Faulkner is set to become Baltimore’s running backs coach.
Faulkner, 48, had been with the Steelers as running backs coach since 2019. He also served as the club’s interim offensive coordinator in 2023 after Matt Canada was fired midway through the season.
While the Ravens will be Faulkner’s second stop in the pros as a coach, he’s also spent time as an offensive assistant at the college level with Ball State, Northern Illinois, Pitt, Wisconsin, and NC State.
Scott Tolzien will not be the Steelers’ next offensive coordinator.
While Tolzien interviewed for the position on Monday, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that Tolzien will stick with the Saints as their quarterbacks coach in 2026.
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.
Now Tolzien will continue to work with Shough to further his development.
The Cowboys want to keep George Pickens, and the Pro Bowl wide receiver wants to remain in Dallas. The team has the franchise tag available to use on the pending free agent, but the question is whether the sides can negotiate a long-term deal.
Pickens said he is “willing to do anything” when asked his thoughts on the franchise tag, but he makes clear his belief that his value increased after his career year. He caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.
“I feel like, if anything, it went up,” Pickens said, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “But me personally, my value is just a playmaker-type-of guy. I feel like any team or wherever I play — I can be playing in Canada — I just want them to know that I’m definitely a playmaker.”
The Cowboys traded with the Steelers for Pickens in the 2025 offseason. Dak Prescott is the best quarterback Pickens has played with, and it showed. His previous best season was 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
All things being equal, Pickens wants to remain in Dallas.
“I would love to,” Pickens said. “But when you can’t control it, you kind of just hope for the best.”
In other words, football is a business.
“Just the ultimate best deal when it helps everybody,” Pickens said. “If it’s the best thing for both parties, then I’m willing to do anything. But like I said, I can’t control it, so I just kind of chill.”
