Would Hines Ward as Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach be a good idea?
Reports surfaced yesterday indicating that the Steelers intend to part with Frisman Jackson after two years as wide receivers coach. This immediately led to speculation about Hines Ward. The former Steeler has been pursuing coaching for years now. He has held a coach positioning in the NFL. He reportedly nearly did so with the Steelers at one point.
That’s all well and good, but there is the ultimate question: would that be a good move for the Steelers? The reality is that he is unproven in this arena. It sounds good on paper. Ward was an old-school wide receiver. He bears the impression that he won’t tolerate any nonsense from George Pickens and Diontae Johnson.
Players also respect former players with resumes as their coaches. Ward is a borderline Hall of Famer with two Super Bowl rings and four Pro Bowls. He has 1,000 career receptions and 12,000 receiving yards. To the best of my knowledge, he would be the most distinguished wide receiver to ever hold a position coach job in NFL history.
But what has he proven as a coach? He only lasted one season as head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL last year. He spent one season as wide receivers coach at Florida Atlantic in 2021. Prior to that, he interned with the Steelers in 2017 and then held an offensive assistant role with the New York Jets in 2019-20.
That is the extent of his accomplishments as a coach at this point. If we’re being honest, it’s hard to extrapolate from that an obviousness that he will be successful as the Steelers’ wide receivers coach. He could be, but that would need proving.
At the very least, it seems only logical to bring him in and interview him for the job. That is assuming that he wants it. He uses lessons learned from his past head coaches, Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher, when he coaches. He would have Tomlin as his boss here. If it were to all work out, great, but nothing guarantees that the pairing will produce the desired results.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason to look forward to.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Kenny Pickett the guy? Will he get another season’s reprieve without a serious challenge? How will the team address the depth chart? Do they re-sign Mason Rudolph, one of few significant unrestricted free agents?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
