Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II confirmed the report that they are moving on from wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson when addressing a question about the possibility of Hines Ward taking over the job.
During a one-on-one interview with Bob Pompeani for KDKA on CBS Pittsburgh, he largely deflected in answering the speculation about Ward. And more importantly, as he did when discussing the hire of Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator, he deferred.
“It’s too early for me to say who will fill that role”, he said. “Mike [Tomlin] and Arthur are looking at the options there and I’m sure they’ll do a good job filling the position. We love Hines, but that’s gonna be a decision that Mike and Arthur will have to make in the next week or so, probably”.
It’s hard to say how notable it is that he didn’t rule it out. Perhaps he wouldn’t want to do that publicly regarding a former player so revered in team history. But he basically said it’s up to what Tomlin and Smith want, and if Ward fits that, he’s a candidate.
Wide receivers coach has been the most unstable position under Tomlin. He hired Randy Fichtner to take that job in 2007 before replacing quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson with him in 2010. Then Scottie Montgomery spent three seasons overseeing the Young Money Crew.
Richard Mann had the most successful tenure beginning in 2013 before retiring in 2018. Darryl Drake’s tenure as successor ended tragically when he passed away suddenly in Latrobe in 2019. Both Ike Hilliard and now Jackson lasted only one two-year contract.
In other words, to finally hit on this position once again would be a nice change of pace. Not all of them ended their runs for performance issues. Montgomery accepted a job at his alma mater. Drake’s influence continues to be felt by Diontae Johnson, having been instrumental in drafting him.
Hines Ward’s reputation certainly would precede him if named Steelers wide receivers coach. He has never held a formal position coach role in the NFL, spending two years as an offensive assistant in 2019-2020 with the New York Jets.
He interned with the Steelers in 2017 with Mann in his final season. Reportedly, there were even talks at the time about him potentially being Mann’s successor. Instead, he took the year off. Since then, he spent one season as wide receivers coach for Florida Atlantic in 2021. Last year, he served as head coach of the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas.
While not dismissing the coaching possibility outright, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette urged fans not to hold their breath. The Steelers have had former players on the staff before, including Joey Porter Sr., Jerry Olsavsky, and Carnell Lake.
Rooney notably also gave a rough timeline of about a week or so, though that can hardly be surprising. The scouting process is already well underway, and you need to have your coaching staff together to evaluate. Not just for the draft in April, but for free agency in March, and for making roster decisions—today.
