The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Brian Angelichio as offensive coordinator, choosing a candidate who spent the past four seasons working with one of the NFL’s young, innovative coaches.
Angelichio, 53, served as pass game coordinator and tight ends coach for the Vikings under Kevin O’Connell since 2022. He had previous ties to Mike McCarthy as the Packers’ tight ends coach from 2016-18 and to Pittsburgh as a Pitt assistant for five seasons.
A 14-year NFL coaching veteran, his resume includes stints with the Buccaneers, Browns, Commanders and Panthers.
Angelichio becomes a first-time offensive coordinator with the Steelers but play-calling isn’t in his job description. McCarthy has said he’ll call plays, a role he largely kept for himself in Dallas and Green Bay.
Hiring McCarthy and now Angelichio is an attempt to reinvigorate a Steelers offense that hasn’t finished among the top 20 in yards since 2020. Last year’s offense ranked 25th.
Tapping into Minnesota’s offensive success seems wise. After joining O’Connell’s staff, Angelichio coached a Vikings offense that ranked 12th or better in three of his four seasons. They were particularly good through the air, ranking fifth, fifth and sixth before slipping to 29th this past season as the Vikings battled inconsistent quarterback play.
Angelichio was one of five coaching hires the Steelers announced Wednesday. They also added Danny Crossman (special teams coordinator), Joe Whitt Jr. (assistant head coach/secondary), Domata Peko (defensive line) and Pat Reilly (defensive quality control). Whitt, who coached 11 seasons with McCarthy in Green Bay, was Commanders defensive coordinator the past two years.
An upstate New York native, Angelichio was a four-year starter at outside linebacker for St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. He got his coaching start working with the secondary at SUNY-Brockport and later spent 10 seasons at Ithaca College, rising to offensive coordinator.
He made the jump to Pitt in 2006 to join Dave Wannstedt’s staff for five seasons. As the Panthers’ tight ends coach, he worked with FWAA All-American Dorin Dickerson and helped develop all-Big East player Nate Byham.
After one season at Rutgers, Angelichio jumped to the NFL with the Buccaneers and later the Browns before joining McCarthy in Green Bay in 2016. He worked with Packers tight ends Martellus Bennett, Jared Cook, Richard Rodger and Jimmy Graham, who had 55 catches in 2018.
Angelichio spent one season with the Commanders and two with the Panthers before joining O’Connell in Minnesota. In 2023, T.J. Hockenson finished second in receptions (95) among tight ends and fourth in yards (960).
The Steelers under Mike Tomlin changed offensive coordinators rather often in his final years as coach, with five different assistants calling plays since 2017 (including Eddie Faulkner as an interim coordinator in 2023).
McCarthy also changed offensive coordinators with some regularity in his previous head coaching stops. Some were fired while others took jobs elsewhere.
He hired two offensive coordinators during his five seasons in Dallas, starting with Kellen Moore, a holdover from the previous Cowboys staff. Brian Schottenheimer replaced Moore after three seasons.
In Green Bay, McCarthy had four offensive coordinators over 13 seasons: Jeff Jagodzinski (one year) Joe Philbin (six in two stints), Tom Clements (three) and Edgar Bennett (three).