On Monday the Pittsburgh Steelers made official announcements about two recently reported additions to Mike Tomlin’s staff. That includes the hiring of longtime NFL assistant Mike Sullivan as quarterbacks coach, along with the addition of former Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach Chris Morgan, who will serve as assistant offensive line coach.
The Steelers also revealed that Matt Tomsho has been hired as quality control coach.
The Mike Sullivan Hire is Intriguing
Of the above-named hires, the addition of Sullivan is most notable, not only because he coached now-retired New York Giants QB Eli Manning to some of the best performances of his career. The hope is that he will be able to instill discipline in recently-added former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins, thereby giving Haskins the best possible chance to turn his career around.
Sullivan is a graduate of West Point Military Academy (1989), and he has served as an infantry officer, having graduated from Ranger, Airborne and Air Assault schools. He has also been awarded the Expert Infantryman’s badge as well as the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. Last year he served as West Point football’s director of recruiting.
But for most of the past two decades he has worked as an NFL assistant, including six years as wide receivers coach for the New York Giants (2004-09), and two seasons as New York’s QB coach. During that time, Sullivan won two Super Bowl rings with the Giants and guided Eli Manning to Super Bowl XLVI MVP honors.
Chris Morgan Will Work Alongside the Recently-Promoted Adrian Klemm
Meanwhile, Morgan’s addition has attracted more attention than might otherwise be afforded to an assistant offensive line coach, in part because of the sad state of Pittsburgh’s offensive line, which is in urgent need of an infusion of youth and talent. Three of the starters in 2020 were over 30 years of age, and the Steelers finished last in the NFL in rushing yards.
Klemm, who was promoted from assistant offensive line coach, has pledged to make Pittsburgh’s O-line more physical. In working toward that goal, he’ll have the help of Morgan—a former Pro Football Focus Offensive Line Coach of the Year—who spent the past six years tutoring Atlanta’s O-line.
Prior to joining the Falcons, Morgan worked as assistant offensive line coach for three different teams: Seattle (2014); Washington (2011-13); Oakland (2009-10). He played on the offensive line at the University of Colorado between 1995-99.
Matt Tomsho: A Matt Canada Connection
As for new quality control coach Matt Tomsho, he appears to be following Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada from job to job, at least to a large degree.
In 2020, Tomsho served as the wide receivers coach and strength & conditioning coordinator for the Division III University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds.
Prior to his stint at UW-Eau Claire, Tomsho was an offensive graduate assistant at the University of Maryland (2018), an offensive analyst for LSU (2017), and an offensive assistant at the University of Pittsburgh (2016).
At this point, Mike Tomlin’s Steelers staff would appear to be nearly complete, though there still seems to be a need for a new secondary coach to replace Tom Bradley, whose contract was not renewed for 2021.
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Steelers Add 3 Assistant Coaches