The first Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff domino has fallen, and it’s not one anyone was rooting for. Inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry has left to take the linebackers coach position with the New York Jets. It appears Curry’s contract had expired and either Pittsburgh didn’t want him back or Curry preferred joining Aaron Glenn’s new-look staff.
Regardless of the reason, it makes one position the Steelers must fill for 2025. Below is a non-exhaustive list of names Mike Tomlin could consider, listed in no particular order.
Shaq Wilson – Formerly Of New York Jets
Why not a linebackers coach swap? Curry to the Jets, Wilson to the Steelers.
Wilson most recently served as assistant linebackers coach in New York under Robert Saleh’s staff from 2023 to 2024. He played his college ball at South Carolina but never made it to the NFL. Since then, he’s bounced around and held a bunch of different roles. He stayed with his alma mater as a grad assistant and worked his way up on the player personnel side. The University of Tennessee then hired him as Assistant Director of Sports Performance, working with their strength and conditioning program.
He returned to South Carolina as an assistant coach in 2021 before being hired by the Jets in 2023. There, Quincy Williams became an All-Pro, and James Sherwood went from being unknown to playing solid snaps in relief of an injured C.J. Mosley. With Glenn and Curry in the fold, it doesn’t appear Wilson is being carried over into the new coaching staff.
Mike Caldwell – Formerly Of Las Vegas Raiders
If the Steelers want a more established option, it could be Caldwell. Not retained by the Raiders’ new coaching staff, he served as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He’d held inside linebacker coach jobs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Philadelphia Eagles, making him well-traveled. Caldwell has coached in the NFL since 2008, following a decade-long playing career. He was coached by Bill Belichick and Nick Saban in Cleveland his first few years.
With the Raiders, he held the title of linebackers coach and run game coordinator.
Scott McCurley – Dallas Cowboys
McCurley’s status remains in flux as the Cowboys build their new coaching staff. However, he had strong ties to Mike McCarthy, following him from Green Bay, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if McCurley left, too.
A Pittsburgh native born in New Castle who played college ball at Pitt while serving as a Graduate Assistant, he could want to return to his hometown, considering McCarthy is taking a year off.
Admittedly, it doesn’t sound like Cowboys fans had the highest opinion of McCurley, but positional coaches can be difficult to evaluate, and there are dots to connect here.
Matt House – Jacksonville Jaguars
House still appears under contract but with an uncertain future as new head coach Liam Cohen builds out his staff. Like McCurley, there are Pittsburgh ties. He spent three years on the Panthers’ coaching staff, including 2013 and 2014 as their defensive coordinator.
He remained in the college ranks until 2019 when Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs hired him. He returned to the college level in 2022 before Doug Pederson hired him back to the NFL for the 2024 season. His resume is good and could be attractive to Pittsburgh.
Jerod Mayo – Formerly of the New England Patriots
I’ll list him here because I know he’ll be a popular name in the comments. Going from head coach of the Patriots to inside linebackers coach feels like a pretty big fall, and one I’m not sure if Mayo would take. It may need a more catch-all title similar to Brian Flores, but Flores’ situation was more unique, with the rest of the league freezing him out.
Mayo, of course, would be an excellent choice, given his background. Maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a head coach, but leading the inside linebackers? That he can confidently do. I just see him more likely a Mike Vrabel-like route of appearing as an assistant mid-season somewhere. But if Pittsburgh can make a run at him, have at it. I’d also mention former Patriots ILB Coach Dont’a Hightower, who is not returning for 2025, though it sounded like he wasn’t ready to be a positional coach so soon.
Ryan Shazier & Vince Williams – Pittsburgh Steelers
There’s a chance Pittsburgh could keep Curry’s replacement internal. Though he’s not officially recognized by the team on staff, Ryan Shazier has been with the team all year. From training camp to the regular season, he spent part of the time working with RB Coach Eddie Faulkner, but we also spotted him on Hard Knocks in defensive meetings. Williams has been a linebackers coach for Pine-Richland High School, helping lead them to a WPIAL title. His old-school play and demeanor fit what Pittsburgh needs.
A promotion to head inside linebackers coach feels like it’s a little early but I can’t completely rule it out.
Cato June – Indianapolis Colts
Best remembered as a player, June has been coaching for a long time. On the sidelines since 2011, he’s held various roles that give him a well-rounded background. He’s been on the college recruiting side, coached running backs (good to have to advise linebackers how RBs think), and was even a high school head coach for several years.
There are also some Steelers ties. Current Steelers DC Teryl Austin coached June at Michigan in the late 90s/early 2000s as the Wolverines DC.
The Colts hired June as an assistant linebackers coach in 2022, praising his smarts and work ethic. Despite a couple of coaching changes, he stayed on when Shane Steichen was named Indy’s new headman. June also coached linebackers during the 2024 Senior Bowl.
He’s never fully run a linebacker room at the NFL level, but now might be his time. June is a name that really makes a lot of sense if they’re looking for something similar to what Curry brought.
K.J. Wright – San Francisco 49ers & Josh Bynes – Seattle Seahawks
Lumping these two names together because they’re in similar boats. Former players now serving as coaching assistants, a similar path Curry took to land in Pittsburgh.
Wright had a long NFL career, winning a ring and making a Pro Bowl. In 2024, he became a defensive quality control coach for the 49ers, working with the likes of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. Bynes followed a similar track, bouncing around more in the NFL but spending several stints with Baltimore. Seattle hired him in 2024, connecting with head coach Mike MacDonald from their time with the Ravens.
Like Shazier, both probably aren’t seasoned enough for a full-time role, but maybe they’re worth talking to in an interview.
Sean Duggan – Green Bay Packers
This one is bolder, given how young Duggan is—just 31. He has plenty of Boston College ties that Pittsburgh seems hooked to as well, though Duggan’s connections led him to follow Jeff Hathley from Chestnut Hill to Green Bay as a defensive assistant.
Still, he’s a former college linebacker with stops at Ohio State and was the full-time linebackers coach at Boston College from 2020-2023 before leaving for the pros. He’s a long shot but a name worth jotting down.
