Forget the ink drying — Mike McCarthy hadn’t even signed the official contract before he already began assembling the staff under him as new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach.
“The last 72 hours have been about the staff,” McCarthy said Tuesday, not long after the official announcement of his hire was made three days after he’d agreed to join the Steelers. “It’s just been nonstop because I’m trying to make it fit together.”
That fit is beginning to take shape.
McCarthy’s hires for assistant coach jobs have begun to trickle out. One is Jason Simmons, a former Steelers defensive back who a league source confirmed has interviewed with McCarthy.
Simmons, 49, worked under McCarthy on the Green Bay Packers staff from 2011-2018. He remained with that organization one more season after McCarthy left and has since worked on the defensive staffs of the Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders.
Simmons, according to ESPN, is expected to join the Steelers’ staff in “a prominent defensive role.” Houston’s KPRC-TV termed Simmons’ hire “a done deal,” though his exact title remains unclear. Simmons, who played for the Steelers from 1998-2001 and for the Houston Texans for six seasons, was the Commanders’ defensive pass game coordinator the past two seasons.
The Steelers have not had that position in the past but could be expanding their staff under the veteran coach McCarthy.
The news regarding Simmons comes on the heels of national reports that Patrick Graham is a heavy favorite to be hired as defensive coordinator. Graham has not yet met in person with McCarthy but is expected to soon.
Graham, 47, has spent the past seven seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator for three teams and under four head coaches. The Las Vegas Raiders retained Graham as their DC the past two seasons through the transition from Antonio Pierce to Pete Carroll as coach, but Carroll was fired after a 3-14 season.
Other reported Steelers hires Thursday were offensive line coach James Campen and running backs Ramon Chinyoung. According to CBS Sports, Campen is rejoining McCarthy in that role after he spent the entirety of McCarthy’s 13-year run with Green Bay.
Campen, 61, coached NFL offensive lines in various roles for 20 seasons through 2023.
Chinyoung was an assistant offensive line coach under McCarthy with the Dallas Cowboys. His hire by the Steelers was reported by the veteran Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill.
Scott Tolzien has emerged as a candidate for offensive coordinator. The 38-year-old served two seasons as quarterbacks coach under McCarthy in Dallas. This past season, he was the QB coach for the New Orleans Saints, overseeing the strong rookie year for second-round pick Tyler Shough.
“Anytime you get an opportunity to go interview for one of these, that’s a really great growth opportunity,” Tolzien told reporters at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. “I’m lucky that I’m in a position that I enjoy where I’m at, things are going really good, and yet you always see what’s out there.”
Adding in the previously reported news that Adam Henry had been brought on board as wide receivers coach, the known assured departures from the Mike Tomlin-led Steelers 2025 coaching staff are offensive coordinator Arthur Smith (who took the same position at Ohio State), defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, offensive line coach Pat Meyer, wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner.
There are expected to be some holdovers, however. Inside linebackers coach Scott McCurley, for example, had worked exclusively under McCarthy through all 18 seasons of his NFL coaching tenures until he joined the Steelers last season. McCarthy has never been a head coach and not had McCurley on staff.
Also, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth was briefly a player under McCarthy in Green Bay.
The Steelers are not expected to formally announce or introduce assistant coach hires until the entire staff is put together.