Tag: Mike Sullivan

Steelers QB coach Mike Sullivan gets new title

The Steelers gave Mike Sullivan a new title and something of a promotion.

According to the Pittsburgh Steelers official site, former quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan has himself a new title of Senior Offensive Assistant. The Steelers recently hired former Los Angeles Chargers passing game specialist Tom Arth to be its new quarterbacks coach.

When the move was first announced, Sullivan remained on the staff with the same role and his future was up in the air. Sullivan did interview in the offseason for positions with other teams but finds himself back with the Steelers in a role on the offensive side of the football similar to the one Brian Flores had on defense.

Sullivan was the Steelers quarterbacks coach for the past three seasons and in 2023 took over playcalling after Matt Canada was fired while running backs coach Teryl Austin became the interim offensive coordinator.

The team is making a lot of moves in hopes of improving the Steelers passing offense so it will be interesting to see how Sullivan works in Arthur Smith’s new system.

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Steelers announce Tom Arth as new quarterbacks coach

The Steelers currently have two quarterbacks coaches listed on the team site.

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially announced that they had hired Tom Arth to be the team’s new quarterbacks coach. This ends several days of speculation as to whether or not former quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan would be returning in that role. There had been reports in recent days of both guys connected to the job.

The announcement also formally introduced Zach Azzanni as the wide receivers coach and Mateo Kambui as an offensive assistant.
Azzanni was most recently the wide receivers coach of the New York Jets.

What the announcement didn’t do is clarify exactly what Sullivan will be doing with the team. According to the team’s official site, they have Art and Sullivan both listed as quarterbacks coach but we presume Sullivan’s title will change at some point down the road.

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Steelers to retain Mike Sullivan as quarterbacks coach

There are conflicting reports about who the Steelers quarterbacks coach is at this point.

According to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, the Pittsburgh Steelers are planning to keep current quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan in that same role. There had been discussion about Sullivan staying with the team but shifting roles but this appears to not be the case.

What this does is put the news that the Steelers had hired former Los Angeles Chargers passing game coordinator Tom Arth to be the quarterbacks coach. Does this news mean Arth is being hired at all? Or if he is, will he assume the same role in Pittsburgh he had with the Chargers?

It has been an incredibly busy offseason for the Steelers already. The cascade of coaching changes started with the hire of Arthur Smith to be the team’s new offensive coordinator. Not sure how we feel about keeping Sullivan in the fold at this point but we will need to wait to see what comes out officially from the team.

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Steelers QB coach Mike Sullivan back in the mix for Raiders OC vacancy

Mike Sullivan could still be on his way out of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan had interviewed for the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator opening. But we assumed that was over once the Raiders offered the position for former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury.

But with word that Kingsbury withdrew his name from consideration for the Raiders job, presumably, this means Sullivan is back in the mix for that job.

It’s not that we want Sullivan gone necessarily, but with Arthur Smith coming in as the new offensive coordinator, it only makes sense that head coach Mike Tomlin will want to upgrade there to help Kenny Pickett.

Quarterback play was the biggest shortcoming of the Steelers offense in 2023. Pickett did not show any real growth from his rookie campaign and it was only made worse when backup Mason Rudolph took over the starting job and made the offense look much better.

Sullivan took over the play-calling duties in 2023 after Matt Canada was fired but Tomlin made it clear after the season they were focusing on outside candidates for their offensive coordinator vacancy.

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Stay or Go – Steelers offense coaching staff edition

How many Steelers assistants will stay with a new offensive coordinator coming in?

With the addition of new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have some decisions to make about the team’s existing offensive coaching staff. Here are our predictions for who stays and who goes.

Steelers in awkward spot with Mike Sullivan

The Steelers may end up needing to fire Mike Sullivan

Just over a week into the NFL hiring cycle, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a rather uncomfortable spot. Reports are the Steelers have hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as the team’s new offensive coordinator. This is a good thing.

But there are still more coaching decisions to be made and one was made more uncomfortable. Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan was in the running to be the new offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders but Vegas went with Kliff Kingsbury instead.

Now the Steelers have a coaching predicament with Sullivan. Getting improved quarterback play is a focus and top priority. This means a new quarterbacks coach and maybe even a passing game coordinator. The hope was Sullivan would ride off into the sunset with a new team. Now it might mean the Steelers will have to let Sullivan go so they can hire his replacement.

Sullivan took over playcalling for the Steelers last season after the firing of Matt Canada. But head coach Mike Tomlin made it clear at the end of the season that neither Sullivan nor interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner were candidates to take over the job.

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Jerrod Johnson pulls out of Saints OC search, will return to Houston

Breaking: Jerrod Johnson pulls out of Saints offensive coordinator search, will return to Texans

The New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator search has lost another candidate, but this time it wasn’t someone getting hired by a different team. Top candidate Jerrod Johnson has told teams that he will be returning to the Houston Texans as their quarterbacks coach for another season, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He’ll have an opportunity to gain experience and improve his standing after another year working with C.J. Stroud and Bobby Slowik.

New Orleans wasn’t the only team in pursuit of Johnson, but they made him a priority. The Saints had interviewed Johnson twice, with him being near the top of their list as well as multiple other teams. They have a second interview planned with former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy  on Wednesday, who will be the only other candidate to meet with the Saints twice.

As for the rest of their list (that are still available), it is as follows: Greg Lewis, Klint Kubiak, Brian Griese, Ronald Curry, Mike Sullivan and Brian Johnson. Others may have met with the team but not been reported, as was the case for Getsy, so stay tuned.

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Steelers QB coach Mike Sullivan to interview for OC with Saints

Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan has another interview.

According to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan is interviewing for the offensive coordinator vacancy with the New Orleans Saints.

Sullivan took over as the team’s primary offensive playcaller after the team fired Matt Canada. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner was named interim offensive coordinator but Sullivan’s experience as an offensive coordinator made him the best fit to call plays on gameday.

The Steelers are already on the hunt for a new offensive coordinator and if Sullivan leaves, it would expand the search to a quarterbacks coach as well. The Steelers offense ranked among the worst in the league in yards and scoring due in large part to problems at the quarterback position.

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Coach and GM roundup: Titans hire ex-Broncos assistant as head coach

Coach roundup: Titans hired ex-Broncos assistant Brian Callahan as HC, Raiders stick with Antonio Pierce while Chargers land Jim Harbaugh.

Story update: After this post was scheduled, the Los Angeles Chargers agreed to terms with Jim Harbaugh to be their new head coach. See our original post below. 

The NFL’s coaching carousel continues turning as teams outside the playoffs begin preparing for the 2024 campaign.

After firing Mike Vrabel, the Tennessee Titans have replaced him with former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their new head coach. Callahan, 39, was an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos from 2010-2015, helping the team win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

Peyton Manning has heaped praise on Callahan, who left the Broncos in 2016 to become the Detroit Lions’ quarterbacks coach. After two seasons in Detroit, Callahan coached QBs for the Oakland Raiders in 2018 before getting Cincy’s OC job in 2019.

Seven years after leaving Denver, Callahan was a candidate to return to the Broncos in 2022 when the team fired Vic Fangio. The Broncos interviewed Callahan for their HC opening before eventually hiring Nathaniel Hackett instead. Two years later, Callahan is now a HC in Tennessee and the Broncos have replaced Hackett with Sean Payton.

Elsewhere on the coaching front, the Atlanta Falcons have completed a second head coach interview with Ejiro Evero, who served as Denver’s defensive coordinator in 2022.

Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker has interviewed for the New England Patriots’s defensive coordinator position, but Pats in-house candidate DeMarcus Covington is considered the favorite to land that gig.

Meanwhile, in the AFC West, the Las Vegas Raiders have officially hired Antonio Pierce as their new head coach, removing his interim tag. Las Vegas has also hired a general manager, bringing in Tom Telesco. That means the Raiders will not hire Denver executive Kelly Kleine Van Calligan, who interviewed for the GM opening.

Las Vegas is now set to interview ex-Broncos QBs coach Mike Sullivan (2018) for their offensive coordinator position.

The Los Angeles Chargers have interviewed Vrabel for their HC opening, but Jim Harbaugh is believed to be a leading candidate for the job after setting up a second interview with Los Angeles.

The Chargers and Patriots are still seeking GMs. L.A.’s list of GM candidates includes Jeff Ireland, Dawn Aponte and Jeff King.

In addition to the Chargers and Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders also have HC openings. Harbaugh, Vrabel and Bill Belichick are the most notable coaches still available.

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Saints schedule interview with Steelers play caller Mike Sullivan

Saints schedule interview with Steelers quarterbacks coach and play caller Mike Sullivan, who replaced Matt Canada at midseason:

Here’s another name for the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator search: Mike Sullivan. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Saints have scheduled an interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach to discuss the vacancy. Sullivan took over play-calling duties when the Steelers fired Matt Canada midseason.

Sullivan, 56, has been around a long time. He helped prepare Derek Carr for the NFL draft when he was coming out of school and coached his older brother David Carr on the New York Giants. He’s previously worked as an offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in 2012 and 2013) and Giants, though he only occasionally called plays while working under offensive-minded head coaches like Ben McAdoo. He’s been in the NFL since 2002 and spent eight years coaching at the college level.

Hopefully the Saints are just being thorough. The Steelers offense was more inept than theirs last season and Kenny Pickett has not developed well under Sullivan’s tutelage; Pickett threw has thrown the same number of interceptions as touchdowns (13) through his first 25 games, ranking 31st and 27th in adjusted net yards per attempt in his first two seasons. Sullivan has drawn attention from other teams like the Las Vegas Raiders so his services are in demand, but he’s far from the most appealing candidate on New Orleans’ radar.

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