Will the Pittsburgh Steelers make any changes to their coaching staff, and if so, in what manner? If they are serious about trying to alter their outcomes, how bold are they willing to be? Very rarely will the Steelers ever part with a coach before his contract is up. Matt Canada and Jack Bicknell Jr. are rather exceptional examples to the contrary.
Are the Steelers willing to do that this offseason, if that is what they deem is best for the team?
“To be determined,” Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said when asked if they will fire any coaches.
Because, technically, they don’t “fire” most of these coaches. They simply let their contracts run out.
Coaching contracts are not a matter of public record, so we rarely know definitively the status of anyone in particular. It has been reported that Steelers DC Teryl Austin and OL coach Pat Meyer are both under contract, though. Arguably, other than Mike Tomlin, they have received the most calls for a parting of company.
The Steelers have invested heavily in the offensive line since hiring Meyer. From signing James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo to drafting Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, he has had the resources. At least, he has when they are available. Fautanu and Jones missed the majority of this past season, for example.
Meanwhile, the Steelers started out the 2024 season with one of the best defenses in the league, but finished with one of the worst. Or at least they fell somewhere in the middle. Giving up 299 rushing yards in a playoff game will leave a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. But how much is that the fault of Teryl Austin?
He does have arguably the most expensive defense in the league. The Steelers’ salary cap leans heavily into that side of the ball, with big contracts for T.J. Watt and others. This past offseason, they signed ILB Patrick Queen and traded for CB Donte Jackson.
Much of the rest of the Steelers’ coaching staff is of recent vintage. They just hired OC Arthur Smith, QB coach Tom Arth, and WR coach Zach Azzanni, for example. Grady Brown is generally seen as a rising coach in the secondary.
It’s not necessarily clear that the current assistant coaches are actually the problem for the Steelers. More recently, many have turned to the idea that the Steelers simply don’t have enough coaches. In the past, they have employed senior assistants, but only when the right person is available.
Of course, the one thing that will not change is Mike Tomlin as head coach, and that might be the only truly significant move the Steelers could make. Sure, a different offensive line coach might yield different results. But Tomlin largely runs the defense already, and Smith will obviously get more than one year. Will the Steelers make more than just a token gesture? “To be determined,” I suppose.
