Lunda Wells had a non-stop week in Frisco, Texas. Head coach of the West Team at the 2026 Shrine Bowl, Wells had an opportunity to lead a team through a week of practice and Tuesday night’s game of which Wells’ squad won 21-17. Later this week, Wells will have an opportunity interview for another job: NFL offensive coordinator.

Earlier Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wells would interview for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator vacancy. Following the game, our Josh Carney had a 1v1 interview with Wells, who provided more details.

“I should be talking to them on Thursday,” Wells told Carney.

Wells also confirmed the interview would be virtual, not in-person.

Mike McCarthy and Wells have history together. McCarthy hired him as the Dallas Cowboys’ tight ends coach in 2020, a role Wells still holds today. He’s developed the likes of Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson. Schultz received a big payday in 2024 while Ferguson cashed in one year later. 

Though Wells has never been a coordinator, he’s confident he can step into the role to help McCarthy and the Steelers with a shared goal of making whoever is Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback a success.

“The first style is being a teacher first,” Wells said of his philosophy. “Learning how to teach these guys on the field and off the field. From that, we gotta protect the quarterback. You gotta make the quarterback successful. Again, coming from underneath Coach McCarthy, that was the number one thing coming in the door. Make the quarterback successful.

“How do you do that? Running the football. Action passes. With the marriage of the run and the pass.”

Coaching tight ends since 2018 offers, Well’s time has offered a window into the big picture. Tight ends are asked to do it all. Run block, pass block, and catch the ball. Only the quarterbacks have a fuller understanding of an offense.

Pittsburgh will likely interview multiple candidates for the job. But Wells knows he can take the Steelers’ offense to another level.

“It’d be a great opportunity to showcase what I bring to the table, and how I can help. And then from there, we’ll just see how things fit and go from there. I know Coach McCarthy, he hired me [in Dallas] having not worked with me. I think he thinks highly of me, and I think I can bring a lot to the table. To help him facilitate and do the things that he needs to do to be a winner there.”