Steelers Reportedly Hiring Strength Coach Grant Thorne

The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly hiring another strength coach. After CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that the team was hiring Mark Lovat from the Tennessee Titans, he reported, along with his colleague Chris Hummer, that the Steelers are expected to hire strength coach Grant Thorne, who was also a member of the Titans’ staff.

Like Lovat, Thorne joined the Titans after working as a member of the Green Bay Packers’ strength staff, where he worked with new Steelers’ head coach Mike McCarthy. Thorne was in Green Bay from 2013-2023 where he worked as an assistant strength coach before he and Lovat took jobs with the Titans.

It’s unclear in what exact capacity Lovat and Thorne will serve in. Both were assistant strength coaches in Tennessee, but it’s unknown if one of them is getting a promotion to lead the strength and conditioning team or if both will work as assistants. Thorne played college football at Long Beach City College and Nicholls State, where he graduated from in 2007. He held a role with the New York Jets in 2010 and also worked as a sports performance coach at Purdue from 2011-2014 after a stint at Stanford as their assistant performance coach.

Lovat and Thorne have worked together in some capacity since Thorne was hired by the Packers in 2013, so the two will bring chemistry with each other and familiarity with McCarthy to Pittsburgh.

It seems likely with two reported strength staff hirings today that there will at least be some departures from the team’s previous strength staff. The longest-tenured member is Senior Conditioning Coordinator Garrett Giemont, who has been with the team since Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007. But with Tomlin stepping down, it’s brought an offseason of change, and the expected hirings of Lovat and Thorne could be a sign that the strength staff is getting an overhaul.

It’ll be interesting to see what the official titles are for Lovat and Thorne, but given their history of working together, the two should be on the same wavelength when it comes to running the strength and conditioning program.