Mike McCarthy’s new Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff features plenty of his old friends. Most of the list are names he’s worked with before, whether in San Francisco or Dallas. Perhaps fitting given McCarthy’s own close connections to Pittsburgh. He spent 2000 in New Orleans with Steelers’ GM Omar Khan and Assistant GM Andy Weidl. McCarthy, of course, is a Pittsburgh native.
Is that a concern? Or should that be expected? The best comparison this head coaching cycle is to John Harbaugh, who was quickly scooped up by the New York Giants after being let go by the Baltimore Ravens after 18 years. Does he follow the same trend?
Using this Giants’ coaching tracker from Sports Illustrated, here are the names Harbaugh has brought on board. We’ll note the name, role, and if the coach has ties to Harbaugh (defined as coaching for him before or a clear family connection), if the coach was retained from the previous staff, or if there isn’t a surface-level connection
Tim Kelly
Offensive Role – Retained
Charlie Bullen
Defensive Role – Retained
Willie Taggart
Running Backs – Yes
Dennis Johnson
Defensive Line – Yes
Chris Horton
Special Teams Coordinator – Yes
Dennard Wilson
Defensive Coordinator – Yes
Matt Pees
Assistant Linebackers – Yes
Adam Schrack
Running Backs Quality Control – Yes
Brendan Clark
Defensive Backs Quality Control – Yes
Noah Riley
Football Analyst – NA
Megan Rosburg
Assistant to the Head Coach – NA
Donald D’Alesio
Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Secondary Coach – Yes
Chad Hall
Receivers – Retained
Grant Newsome
Assistant Offensive Line – No
Matt Nagy
Offensive Coordinator – No
Matt Robinson
Assistant Defensive Line – Yes
Greg Roman
Senior Offensive Assistant (Possible Run Game Coordinator) – Yes
Mike Bloomgren
Offensive Line – No
Addison Lynch
Defensive Backs – No
Of the 17 I’m including (I’m excluding Riley and Rosburg since I don’t count those positions in my yearly coaching size studies), 10 have an obvious tie. Nine of them coached with Harbaugh before, while the 10th, Matt Pees, is the son of former Ravens’ defensive coordinator Dean Pees.
Three coaches were retained, while four had no direct ties. However, it’s worth noting that Grant Newsome played and coached under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, John’s son. Still, I won’t count it in the “Yes” column even if I reasonably could.
How does that compare to McCarthy’s group? Of the reported or confirmed hires, 11 have ties: OC Brian Angelichio, RBs Coach Ramon Chinyoung, WRs Coach Adam Henry, OL Coach James Campen, Assistant OL Coach Jahri Evans, Senior Offensive Assistant Frank Cignetti Jr., Offensive QC Eric Simonelli, DC Patrick Graham, DL Coach Domata Peko, DBs Coach/Assistant HC Joe Whitt Jr., and DBs Coach/Pass Game Coordinator Jason Simmons.
Two were retained, QBs Coach Tom Arth and ILBs Coach Scott McCurley (in fairness, both have ties to McCarthy), while five had no obvious ties: linebacker Coaches CJ Ah You and Shawn Howe, defensive assistant Patrick Reilly, and special teams coaches Danny Crossman and Derius Swinton II. Like New England, I’m not counting Steve Scarnecchia as McCarthy’s Chief of Staff/personal assistant.
So to truly compare:
Year
McCarthy
Harbaugh
Total Coaches
18
17
Connections
11
10
Retained
2
3
Non-Connections
5
4
Connection %
61.1%
58.8%
Nearly identical figures. McCarthy and Harbaugh are assembling a staff of people they’ve worked with before.
Does that mean it’s the right strategy? Not necessarily. Just because Harbaugh is doing it doesn’t mean it’s the right decision. However, it’s proof that longtime coaches like McCarthy and Harbaugh, 18 years with head NFL jobs, have a wide network of connections and lean on them in putting together the coaching staff. There’s value in that. Guys you know, trust, and will align with your vision and approach. No guesswork of how that d-coordinator thinks and operates. McCarthy already knows.
The risk is the “good ‘ol boys” club. McCarthy hiring the guys he’s comfortable with and knows, without doing much that’s innovative or cutting-edge, for a franchise that could use a refresh.
Time will tell which was right. But McCarthy’s approach to his first Pittsburgh coaching staff is no surprise. He’s hardly alone.