When longtime Steelers ILB Coach Jerry Olsavsky left the organization, his replacement had big shoes to fill.
Olsavsky had been with the team since 2010, being hired as a defensive assistant where he would serve through the 2014 season. Olsavsky was then promoted to ILB coach in 2015, working in that capacity through the 2022 season. Shortly before it was announced that Olsavsky wouldn’t come back in 2023, Pittsburgh announced that they were adding Aaron Curry to coach linebackers, later to be specified as ILBs.
Curry was a former top-five pick, selected fourth overall by Seattle in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Wake Forest. After seeing his football career come to an end after five seasons, he latched on to Pete Carrol’s staff in Seattle as an assistant, helping with the OLBs the past few seasons.
When asked about Curry’s impact thus far during offseason activities, Steelers DC Teryl Austin mentioned that Curry has made an impression on him from the beginning thanks to his passion and dedication to the game.
“A lot of young juice, and a good young coach,” Austin said regarding Curry to the media Tuesday via video from Steelers.com. “He’s coached outside. He’s coached inside, kind of coached around but never really had his room. But, when I watch him and I watch how he interacts with the guys, he gives a lot of good energy. He’s really wide-eyed. He pushes those guys. He has all the good stuff that I think a good young coach has.”
HC Mike Tomlin mentioned Curry and his energy at the NFL Owners Meetings earlier this offseason, speaking about the physical presence that he brings on the field now as a coach. Curry fits the mold of a former player turned coach, having been one of the top prospects of his draft class and a stellar athlete when coming out in 2009. His playing career may not have turned out the way everyone hoped, but he still evidently has that fire and passion for the game and desires to bring the best out of others in a coaching role.
Given the fact that Pittsburgh has so many experienced veteran coaches on staff like DL Coach Karl Dunbar and DB Coach Grady Brown, adding a younger guy like Curry can be a nice changeup to the staff. For a coaching staff that hasn’t experienced much turnover under Mike Tomlin in the past, there has been several notable changes this offseason, Curry being one of them. Regardless, Curry finds himself in a great spot to lead his own room and learn for the likes of Tomlin, Dunbar, and Austin as he attempts to make a name for himself among the coaching ranks in the NFL.
