Mike McCarthy has dug into his Green Bay and Dallas roots to assemble the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff, but his new special teams coordinator could hail from his days at Pitt.
Veteran NFL assistant Danny Crossman is expected to join McCarthy’s staff as special teams coordinator, according to an NFL Network report. Crossman was a senior captain at Pitt in 1989 when McCarthy was hired as a graduate assistant.
Crossman, 59, most recently coached the Miami Dolphins’ special teams for six seasons ending in 2024. He also had stints with Carolina (2003-09), Detroit (2010-12) and Buffalo (2013-18). He would replace longtime Steelers assistant Danny Smith, who held the special teams job for 13 seasons before leaving for Tampa Bay.
McCarthy’s coaching staff has started to take shape less than a week after his official introduction. Many of his hires, such as Crossman, already had some connection to McCarthy earlier in their career.
A top candidate for offensive coordinator, New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien was expected to interview Monday with the Steelers, according to NFL Network. A former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback, Tolzien, 38, knew McCarthy as a coach and player. He served five seasons as an assistant with McCarthy in Dallas and was one of Aaron Rodgers’ backup quarterbacks in Green Bay.
So far, the only coordinator the Steelers officially have hired is Patrick Graham, who was tabbed last week to lead the defense. Graham worked with McCarthy as a Packers assistant and has served as a coordinator in the NFL since 2019 for the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders.
The team announced eight additional assistant coaches Monday, many with ties to McCarthy.
The Steelers hired Jason Simmons (defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs), James Campen (offensive line), Jahri Evans (assistant offensive line), Ramon Chinyoung Sr. (running backs), Adam Henry (wide receivers) and Steve Scarnecchia (chief of staff). The team also retained Scott McCurley (inside linebackers) and Tom Arth (quarterbacks) from Mike Tomlin’s staff.
The chief of staff position was newly created.
Simmons has coached 16 seasons in the NFL and spent the past two as defensive pass game coordinator for the Washington Commanders. He got his coaching start as a defensive assistant with the Packers under McCarthy in 2011. As a player, Simmons played four of his 10 NFL seasons with the Steelers.
McCurley, a Lawrence County native and Mohawk graduate, joined the Steelers’ coaching staff last winter. McCurley previously coached under McCarthy in Green Bay and Dallas, where he spent five seasons as Cowboys linebackers coach (2020-24).
Arth is another holdover from Tomlin’s staff, having joined the Steelers in 2024 after a two-year stint with the Chargers. He was previously a college head coach at Akron, Chattanooga and John Carroll.
Campen spent 15 seasons with the Packers as an assistant coach, a stint that largely overlapped McCarthy’s time in Green Bay. He later coached the Browns, Chargers, Texans and Panthers before rejoining the Packers as a scouting consultant.
Campen played eight NFL seasons for the Saints (1986-88) and Packers (1989-93).
Evans was a five-time All-Pro offensive lineman for the Saints and a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s. He finished out his playing career with McCarthy’s Packers in 2017 before returning to New Orleans as a coach five years later.
Chinyoung worked the past three seasons as an offensive quality control coach or assistant offensive line coach with the Cowboys. He spent two of those seasons with McCarthy as coach.
Henry served the past three seasons as wide receivers coach for Bills but previously had a two-year stint in Dallas with McCarthy.
Scarnecchia has a 16-year NFL career, including five seasons as chief of staff for the Falcons (2024-25) and Jets (2021-23). His father, Dante, was a longtime assistant for the Patriots.
