Matt Tomsho might not be the most well-known or exciting name among the Pittsburgh Steelers’ three recent outside hires to their coaching staff, named as a quality control coach, but there is one fact in particular that is interesting about his background—he has followed new offensive coordinator Matt Canada along his coaching carousel career for years.
According to his own LinkdIn profile, Tomsho began working as a student manager in the NC State University football program in 2011. By 2015, he was an undergraduate student assistant. Canada was the offensive coordinator there between 2013 and 2015.
Canada left for Pittsburgh in 2016. Tomsho followed him as an offensive football assistant. A year after that, they both took off for LSU for one year, before that relationship quickly went south, where Tomsho did offensive analysis.
Finally, they both wound up at Maryland in 2018, with Tomsho as an offensive graduate assistant. Canada only lasted one season there—and the same for Tomsho, who has been the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 2019.
What does this all mean? Well, it’s pretty clear that Tomsho is something of whom Canada thinks highly, and he was obviously brought in under his recommendation, believing him to be somebody who can help install and run his offense.
Tomsho was hired by the Steelers to be a quality control coach, but his emphasis is probably going to be on offense, having had more than half a decade’s worth of experience working directly with Canada on a variety of some of the less glamorous aspects of putting together game plans and running practices.
You can read his breakdown of responsibilities at each post, but they generally contain the information that you would expect, including data analysis, putting together cutups, managing changes to the game plan, and even running some meetings and drills, as well as devising plays and having in-game roles regarding communicating signals.
The Steelers’ offensive staff in particular is very new at this point. With Randy Fichtner, Shaun Sarrett, and James Daniel gone, only Adrian Klemm and Eddie Faulkner have been here for more than one season, and Klemm was an assistant.
Ike Hilliard was brought on board as wide receivers coach last year, and he remains. Alfredo Roberts is the new tight ends coach. Mike Sullivan is the new quarterbacks coach. Chris Morgan is the new assistant offensive line coach.
As least Tomsho is somebody that Canada knows and trusts.
