If the Pittsburgh Steelers make coaching changes, they’re unlikely to satisfy a restless fanbase. Though many would love to see offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, and offensive line coach Pat Meyer shown the door, the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo isn’t expecting sweeping pink slips to be handed out.
“I haven’t heard anything like that. That anyone who’s under contract is gonna be let go,” Fittipaldo told 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi Thursday afternoon.
In context and fairness, Fittipaldo left the door open for that to change and for Mike Tomlin to make a move next week to shake up the coaching staff. But Pittsburgh rarely fires coaches mid-contract, preferring to let them walk after their deals expire instead. Matt Canada served as an exception, but that was a rare ugly situation that wasn’t tenable keeping. Other firings have also come in only the worst-of-the-worst moments, the team canning OL Coach Jack Bicknell Jr. after one season in 2013 in what was one of Tomlin’s worst hires and one the team reportedly “settled” for after losing out on other options.
It doesn’t sound like o-line coach Pat Meyer will suffer the same fate. Hired in 2022, the belief is he’s under contract through 2025. Typically, Pittsburgh hires positional coaches to two-year deals. Given that Meyer coached in 2024, he would’ve signed a two-year deal through 2023 initially followed by another two-year deal to run through 2025. Fittipaldo was more confident Meyer would stay.
“I do not get the sense that they’re gonna make a change there,” he said of Meyer’s status.
Rookies Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick showed promise, but the line didn’t improve as a whole. Perhaps the team will blame early-year injuries and group fatigue as reasons why instead of Meyer.
“The sense I get right now is there’s gonna be changes, but probably not the changes that people wanna hear about,” Fittipaldo concluded.”
Teryl Austin has been on staff since 2019 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2022 to replace the retired Keith Butler. Pittsburgh has finished with a top 10 scoring defense all three years.
With Arthur Smith unlikely to get the Chicago Bears job, his only path to leave is through the New York Jets. If that doesn’t happen either, he’ll return as offensive coordinator for Year 2 of his three-year contract. That means Smith, Austin, and Meyer could all end up staying. Assuming the other coaches just hired last year also remain, that means QBs Coach Tom Arth and WRs Coach Zach Azzanni will also return. It leaves Pittsburgh with few significant areas to shuffle out. Changing one positional coach, if that, isn’t going to move the needle the way the fanbase wants.
