The New York Jets are hiring Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry as their new linebackers coach, per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Curry just finished his second season in Pittsburgh and now will join new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn’s staff.
It’s the first known coaching change to Pittsburgh’s staff, although it’s one that may have been Curry’s decision rather than the team. Per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Curry’s contract with the Steelers had expired.
Curry got strong play out of ILB Elandon Roberts over the past two years, and ILB Payton Wilson praised Curry as one of the best coaches he’s ever been around. Now, he’ll work under another defensive head coach in Glenn and a veteran defensive coordinator in Steve Wilks, who also has worked as a head coach for the Arizona Cardinals and an interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Aaron Curry got his coaching start at the University of Charlotte in 2013 as a strength and conditioning intern. He worked his way up to defensive line coach at Charlotte, and his time at the school overlapped with Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith. He made the jump to the NFL in 2019, working as an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks, serving as a coaching assistant in 2019 and then a defensive assistant with Seattle from 2020-2022. He was hired by the Steelers ahead of the 2023 season.
It sounds as if his new role with the Jets will encompass the entire linebackers room, instead of just working with the inside linebackers as he did with Pittsburgh. He could’ve viewed that as an upgrade, hence leading to his departure. He’ll also work under an up-and-coming coach in Glenn, which could help raise his coaching profile.
The Steelers still have Denzel Martin as their outside linebackers coach, and the team has traditionally had a designated inside linebackers coach, as Jerry Olsavsky held the role before Aaron Curry. With Curry now departing, the Steelers will likely look to hire another inside linebackers coach.
It remains to be seen if more staff changes are coming for Pittsburgh. Steelers owner Art Rooney II said earlier this week there would be changes, although not wholesale changes. That could mean additional moves are coming.
