The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busier than expected to begin the offseason. That’s typically what happens when your head coach of 19 years, Mike Tomlin, unexpectedly resigns from his post with the team after their 2025 campaign. That forced the Steelers to begin looking for a replacement, and they eventually decided to hire former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
After taking a year off from coaching in 2025, McCarthy will return to coach his hometown Steelers, and it’s clear he’s fired up to have taken this job. McCarthy’s first order of business will involve him finding offensive and defensive coordinators, and while it sounds like he’s set to reunite with Patrick Graham to come be his defensive coordinator, reports indicate he will be bringing another one of his former Packers coaches, Jason Simmons, to town with him, too.
Steelers Set to Hire Commanders’ Assistant Jason Simmons
McCarthy is most well-known for his stint in charge of the Packers, with the highlight seeing him lead the team to victory in Super Bowl XLV. During his 13 years in charge of Green Bay, McCarthy encountered quite a few coaches, and now that he’s back in the NFL, he’s calling on some of those guys to come in and work with him.
Graham was the first guy McCarthy called up, from the sounds of it. Over the past four seasons, Graham has worked as the Las Vegas Raiders‘ defensive coordinator, but before that, he served on McCarthy’s staff with the Packers in 2018 as their linebackers coach and run game coordinator. While nothing is finalized, reports indicate that Graham is on track to become McCarthy’s defensive coordinator.
It looks like Graham won’t be the only coach with previous ties to McCarthy that will be brought back to town, though, as Simmons, who has spent the past two years working as the Washington Commanders‘ defensive pass game coordinator, is expected to be hired by the Steelers as well. Simmons, McCarthy, and Graham all worked together in 2018, with Simmons having been a member of McCarthy’s staff in Green Bay since 2011.
“Washington assistant Jason Simmons, who interviewed for the Steelers DC job, is expected to join the staff in a prominent defensive role, per sources. This would be a reunion for Simmons, Patrick Graham and Mike McCarthy from Green Bay,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN shared in a post on X.
Mike McCarthy’s Coaching Staff is Beginning to Come Together
GettyMike McCarthy opened up on getting hired to be the Steelers’ new head coach
McCarthy had his work cut out for him after taking over for the Steelers, but it seems like he’s on track to make his first big hire in Graham. Assuming he does end up becoming Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator, McCarthy would then turn his attention towards finding a replacement for outgoing offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Once the coaching staff gets finalized, though, Pittsburgh is still going to have a lot of work to do. The biggest decision that will be made this offseason involves the future of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Whether or not he decides to return and play for McCarthy will likely end up playing a big role in shaping how the team’s offseason unfolds.
Steelers Expected to Reunite Mike McCarthy With Coveted Commanders Coach