Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan at practice on June 17, 2021. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The Las Vegas Raiders have hired former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Mike Sullivan, according to a report by NFL Network, just weeks after he landed a new job with Rutgers as the senior offensive assistant for head coach Greg Schiano.
Sullivan, 59, will be the quarterbacks coach for the Raiders. He had been set to reunite with Schiano,. who he served with in Tampa Bay, but the Raiders made a late addition to their coaching staff, which they had previously announced without a quarterbacks coach. Sullivan will likely get a chance to work with presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza with the Raiders.
Sullivan spent four seasons with the Steelers from 2021-24. He started out as the team’s quarterbacks coach, serving under offensive coordinator Matt Canada from 2021-23. After Canada was fired in the middle of the 2023 season, Sullivan took over play-calling duties for the offense, but retained his quarterbacks coach title, while running backs coach Eddie Faulkner was named interim offensive coordinator.
In 2024, the Steelers did not consider Sullivan for the full-time offensive coordinator role, but after the Steelers brought Arthur Smith in to be offensive coordinator, Sullivan was retained as senior offensive assistant. He was not brought back to the Steelers in 2025 and did not coach elsewhere last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 26, 2023. — Ed Thomson / Steelers Now
Before his time with the Steelers, Sullivan was the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he first worked with Schiano.
A native of Santa Maria, California, he played football at Army and served as an infantry officer before getting into coaching. After stints at his alma mater, Youngstown State and Ohio, Sullivan moved up to the NFL as a quality control coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2002.
He was hired by the Giants as wide receives coach in 2004 and promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2010, winning two Super Bowls as an assistant in New York while coaching Eli Manning.
Sullivan was hired by the Bucs as offensive coordinator in 2012, but his tenure lasted just two seasons, when Schiano and the entire coaching staff was fired. Sullivan returned to the Giants as quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2016 for a two-year run under Ben McAdoo. McAdoo was fired mid-season in 2017 and Sullivan did not return for 2018.Â
He caught on with the Denver Broncos as quarterbacks coach in 2018 and was working as the director of recruiting at Army when the Steelers hired him in 2021.
Mentioned In This Article: Mike Sullivan Pittsburgh Steelers Rutgers Steelers