Steelers' First Coaching Staff Under Mike McCarthy Is Officially Finalized After Recent Hires

The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone through a ton of changes to begin the 2026 offseason, and the change began the day after the 2025 season ended as former head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down from his position. The organization then went on a search for its next head coach before landing on Mike McCarthy, who happens to be a native of Pittsburgh. The coaching staff from the 2025 season in Pittsburgh was not automatically retained and they were all free to look for work elsewhere, however some coaches stuck around on McCarthy's staff.

McCarthy immediately began to fill out his staff, and one of his first hires was Patrick Graham to be his defensive coordinator. He also eventually hired Brian Angelichio as his offensive coordinator, although McCarthy will be calling plays for the offense during games. The head coach filled out the rest of his assistant coaches with a lot of guys that he had worked with in the past, which was criticized by some fans, although it makes sense to hire people he would be familiar with. The coaching staff was finalized on Thursday, which the team announced.

The new hires that have not yet been covered include Tight Ends Coach Robert Kugler, Game Management and Quarterback Coach Tim Berbenich, and Offensive Quality Control Coach Eric Simonelli.

The most notable hire is Kugler being brought on as the tight ends coach. He entered the NFL in 2021 as an assistant offensive line coach with the Houston Texans. He then held that same position for two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, and he then spent the next two seasons in the same role with the New England Patriots. During his playing career, Kugler was a center, and he didn't make it far in the NFL as a player. He will come on to coach the tight ends, and he is also from Pittsburgh.

Another notable hire was Berbenich. He is taking on a new role on the coaching staff as he will be in charge of game management. It should be assumed that this would include time out usage, as well as decisions on when to challenge plays. He might be up in a booth during games, and during critical moments he will speak with McCarthy through the headset to give him advice on what to do. He recently held the same role with the Atlanta Falcons, and he was also with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 as a coaching analyst. Berbenich is very experienced and has been a part of the NFL since 2000.

Simonelli is joining the coaching staff as an offensive quality control coach, and he spent the 2025 season with TCU as a linebackers coach. Before that, he was with the Dallas Cowboys where he spent a ton of time with McCarthy. He was with Dallas prior to McCarthy being hired, but he was retained and promoted once McCarthy arrived in Dallas.

Steelers Are Bringing In Franchise's Largest Coaching Staff Under Mike McCarthy

A knock on the Steelers in recent years was the size of the coaching staff, as well as the idea that the staff was missing some positions that were common throughout the NFL. A thought was that this was the organization being cheap, but it now seems that the size of the coaching staff was the choice of Tomlin. This coaching staff seems to be a step in the right direction for the Steelers, and it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the 2026 season with a ton of new faces joining the coaching ranks in Pittsburgh.

The organization hiring McCarthy was panned by most fans at first, but the fan base seems to be coming around to the idea of McCarty running the show.

What do you think of the Steelers' finalized coaching staff for 2026? Let us know in the comments below!

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