A busy day for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff. After assigning former QB coach Mike Sullivan to a new role and hiring the team’s strength and conditioning staff, the team also hired Matt Baker as their new offensive assistant. While no formal release was announced, Baker’s name now appears on the Front Office tab of Steelers.com.
Baker, 40, has long ties with new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. After the two played together at North Carolina — Baker as a quarterback, Smith as an offensive lineman — he served on the Falcons’ coaching staff in 2023. Last year, he was listed as the club’s special teams assistant. Smith and Baker also coached together in 2010 at Ole Miss.
Baker doesn’t just have ties to Smith. More loosely, there are ties to new QB coach Tom Arth. Prior to coming to Atlanta, Baker spent three seasons as John Carroll’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That’s Arth’s alma mater and where Arth coached for several seasons, leading the school to prominence.
After his college days, Baker spent 2006 to 2009 in the NFL, bouncing around from team to team. Never appearing in an NFL game, he logged time with the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, and Buffalo Bills. In total, he was signed by six different teams throughout his professional career.
Transitioning to coaching, Baker was hired by Ole Miss in 2010, reuniting with Smith. After a career in the energy sector, he returned to coaching in 2019, serving as Western Michigan’s quarterbacks coach and offensive analyst. He was hired by John Carroll in 2020 before being poached by the Falcons in 2023.
Baker should fill the role Glenn Thomas held in 2023. The latter left after one season with the team, joining Matt Rhule in Nebraska.
Pittsburgh’s offensive coaching staff has seen many changes this offseason. Smith was tabbed as the team’s new offensive coordinator, Arth was brought in as QB coach, moving Sullivan to a senior offensive assistant role. Pittsburgh parted ways with WR coach Frisman Jackson, replacing him with Zach Azzanni, while losing Thomas, assistant QB coach David Corley, and quality control coach Matt Tomsho. The team also added Offensive Assistant Mateo Kambui, who worked with Smith in 2023.
