The Shared History of the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers Coaches

Hey, it’s the off-season, and that means there is time to fill. So the guys at UKSP thought: “We know — let’s get someone who can fill hours of podcasting while we look at supermarkets and car parks. But who can we rope in to do that?”

Though it wasn’t presented to me quite like that, I was flattered to be asked back and step into the role of mafioso for the evening. The brief was: tell us about the new coaching system and what we can expect. What that really means is: when can we start putting our hands to our faces and screaming, “What have we done?” and “Can we have Tomlin back?”

Episode 360 was a long one, and we covered quite a lot. If you haven’t listened yet, I recommend it. If you want an abbreviated version, you can always have a look at the UKSP YouTube channel.

A lot of information is shared, so trying to keep up might feel like “drinking from a fire hose”, so I thought a written reference might make it easier to understand. I have broken the information into smaller chunks and even managed to add some coaches I did not cover on the podcast.

Ran Geffen

A guide to the coaching connections

1. Mike McCarthy — coaching path

• What it shows: McCarthy’s complete coaching route, from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 through Kansas City, Green Bay, New Orleans, San Francisco and Dallas, before returning to Pittsburgh as Steelers head coach in 2026.

• What it means: This is the central timeline for the article. Many of the connections in the later graphics were formed at one of these stops.

2. Green Bay Packers connections

• What it shows: The members of the 2026 Steelers staff who previously worked for, played for or overlapped with McCarthy’s Packers between 2006 and 2018.

• What it means: Green Bay forms one of the main branches of the new Steelers coaching network, linking McCarthy with figures from coaching, playing and strength and conditioning backgrounds.

3. Dallas Cowboys connections

• What it shows: The coaches who shared time with McCarthy in Dallas from 2020 to 2024, including direct staff colleagues and Darian Thompson’s earlier spell as a Cowboys player.

• What it means: Dallas is the other major McCarthy-era pipeline into Pittsburgh. The Domata Peko entry also shows how one connection can extend through another coach — in this case, Mike Zimmer.

4. NFL staff connections without McCarthy

• What it shows: Shared NFL stops among members of the 2026 staff that do not depend upon McCarthy, covering the Colts, Dolphins, Panthers, Falcons, Texans, Raiders and Saints.

• What it means: The staff is not simply a collection of McCarthy associates. Several coaches already had their own working relationships, sometimes across more than one organisation.

5. New York Giants connections

• What it shows: Patrick Graham, Frank Cignetti Jr., Adam Henry and Darian Thompson were all with the Giants during Ben McAdoo’s 2016–17 tenure. McAdoo had previously worked alongside McCarthy in New Orleans, San Francisco and Green Bay.

• What it means: The Giants form a smaller but distinct cluster within the staff, connecting four current Steelers figures through another branch of McCarthy’s coaching history.

6. New England Patriots connections

• What it shows: A web of links involving Danny Crossman, Patrick Graham, Steve Scarnecchia, Robert Kugler and others, built through the Patriots, Doug Marrone, Scott O’Brien, Brendan Daly and the Scarnecchia family.

• What it means: Some of the staff’s shared history is indirect. Former colleagues, position coaches and later reunions connect the special-teams, defensive and offensive-line branches of the group.

7. C.J. Ah You — extended connections

• What it shows: Ah You’s time as a St. Louis Rams player connects him with Rick Venturi, Steve Spagnuolo and Brendan Daly. Those three then lead back to McCarthy or Patrick Graham through later and earlier coaching roles.

• What it means: Ah You’s place in the wider network is created through a chain of shared coaches rather than a direct spell on a McCarthy staff.

8. Dom Capers and the 2026 Steelers coaches

• What it shows: Capers’ work with current Steelers coaches and staff across the Saints, Texans, Packers and Panthers, including three separate overlaps with James Campen.

• What it means: Capers is another major connecting figure. His career links the McCarthy coaching tree with several defensive and offensive-line members of the 2026 staff.

9. College-level connections

• What it shows: Three relationships that began before the NFL: McCarthy and Crossman at Pitt, Grant Thorne and Robert Kugler at Purdue, and Steve Scarnecchia and Reilly at Syracuse.

• What it means: The shared history reaches back into college football. Not every connection was formed on an NFL coaching staff.

10. Proper Pierogi-Eating Yinzers at the Steelers

• What it shows: The Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania roots within the coaching staff and playing squad, from McCarthy and Cignetti to Cam Heyward, Joey Porter Jr., Jaquan Brisker and Eli Heidenreich.

• What it means: Alongside the professional coaching links, the 2026 Steelers also contain a strong group of people with personal, educational or football ties to the Pittsburgh area.

11. Shawn Howe

• What it shows: Howe is the only on-field assistant in the research with no identified tie to another Steelers coach or player. He arrives after helping Montana State win the 2025 FCS championship, with a role that appears geared towards the pass rush.

• What it means: Howe is the outlier in the network and makes clear that not every member of the new staff comes from an existing Steelers or McCarthy connection.

12. Coaches with rings

• What it shows: Seven members of the staff with Super Bowl-winning experience: five from Green Bay’s Super Bowl XLV team, Jahri Evans from the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV team and Patrick Graham from the Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX team.

• What it means: The staff’s shared history is not only about familiarity. It also includes championship experience across coaching, playing and strength and conditioning roles.

Taken together, the connections reveal a staff built from several overlapping networks rather than one single coaching tree. McCarthy is the central figure, but Green Bay, Dallas, New York, New England, the college game,Pittsburgh and even London all contribute branches of their own.