The Pittsburgh Steelers have their next head coach in Mike McCarthy. Whether he has a successful tenure with his hometown team, though, will greatly depend on who the organization adds as coordinators.
The Steelers have their first candidate for their offensive coordinator opening.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday morning the Steelers will interview Dallas Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells for their OC role.
Wells worked under Steelers HC Mike McCarthy in Dallas for five years, and interviewed this month for the Commanders OC job. He also is head coach for the west
As Schefter indicated, Wells worked under McCarthy in Dallas beginning in 2020. Wells has been the Cowboys tight ends coach each of the past six seasons.
Wells previously interviewed for the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator opening. He doesn’t have any OC experience.
Wells is the first known interview the Steelers have scheduled for the top offensive assistant role on McCarthy’s staff.
Steelers to Interview Lunda Wells for OC Opening: Report
With McCarthy filling the Steelers opening at head coach, the biggest question around the team again becomes who will start behind center. McCarthy previously worked with 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for 13 years with the Green Bay Packers.
Steelers president Art Rooney II left open the possibility Rodgers could return for 2026 in an interview with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola. But Rodgers coming back is far from a foregone conclusion.
Besides quarterback, who the team hires as its next offensive coordinator should be another major storyline. In the final years under previous head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers didn’t have the coaches seen around the league as great offensive coordinators.
Wells began his coaching career at the high school level in 2006. After four years as an LSU assistant, Wells made the jump to the NFL to become an offensive quality control coach with the New York Giants.
Wells coached with the Giants from 2012-19. In his final two seasons, he served as the team’s tight ends coach.
With the Giants, Wells survived two head coaching changes. Wells also remained with the Cowboys in 2025 despite McCarthy’s exit.
Steelers Plan to Introduce Mike McCarthy at 2 PM ET Tuesday
The Steelers announced Monday the organization will introduce McCarthy to the media and fans at his first team press conference on Tuesday. The press conference will take place at 2 pm ET.
Rooney previously addressed the team hiring McCarthy in his Steelers.com interview, which was released Sunday. In that interview, Rooney talked about some of the biggest questions surrounding the organization, including filling out the rest of the coaching staff.
“He’s in the process right now of trying to hire a staff,” said Rooney. “It’s not an easy task, because some of the people he’d like to hire are under contract to other teams, and so we’ve got to get permission to talk to them. But just in general, the people he had targeted for key positions – offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and those kinds of things – we were very comfortable with the discussion around that.”
In all likelihood, the Steelers will have all new coordinators in 2026. The most likely to return was special teams coordinator Danny Smith. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already hired Smith this offseason.
Steelers’ 1st OC Candidate Under Mike McCarthy Emerges: Report