Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Mike McCarthy as their next head coach, breaking a longstanding tradition by brining in a coach that not only has previous NFL head coaching experience, but extensively so.
McCarthy has coached in 288 career games. The previous 16 Steelers head coaches had 174 combined games of NFL experience before they were hired in Pittsburgh.
That means that, when it comes to filling out his coaching staff, McCarthy will have an extensive Rolodex of former assistants that he can call up. (As a 62-year-old, McCarthy might have an actual Rolodex).
Just looking at potential offensive and defensive coordinator hires for the moment, here are 15 former McCarthy assistants that appear to be available to the Steelers this offseason:
Pettine had already been a head coach at the NFL level, spending two forgettable seasons leading the Cleveland Browns before McCarthy hired him as defensive coordinator in 2018.
Pettine stayed in Green Bay until 2020, then spent one season as a senior defensive assistant with the Chicago Bears and has been with the Minnesota Vikings as assistant head coach since 2022.
Joe Whitt Jr. joined McCarthy’s Packers staff as a young coach in 2008, progressing to cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator. When McCarthy wen to Dallas, Whitt went with him, again as defensive pass game coordinator from 2021-23. In 2024, the Washington Commanders hired Whitt as defensive coordinator, but they fired him after the end of the 2025 season,
Patrick Graham spent just one season with McCarthy as a linebackers coach and run game coordinator in 2018. He earned a promotion as defensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins in 2019, and then added assistant head coach to his role with the New York Giants from 2020-21. Since then, he’s been the defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders through two different head coaches.
Al Harris played for McCarthy’s Packers from 2006-10. He got his start in coaching elsewhere, but McCarthy brought him along to the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, making him defensive backs coach, and adding assistant head coach to his title in 2024.
Harris was not retained on the Dallas staff this season and spent the year as the defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for the Chicago Bears.
Jason Simmons was a fifth-round pick and spent five seasons as a cornerback for the Steelers from 1998-2001. McCarthy gave him his start in coaching in 2011 He worked his way up to secondary coach, before leaving in 2020 for the Carolina Panthers, where he added defensive passing game coordinator to his title. He’s retained that role in stops with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022-23 and with the...
