While Mike McCarthy spent five years as the Cowboys’ head coach, the early makeup of his Steelers staff reminds more of his Packers setup. After hiring one-year Green Bay assistant Patrick Graham as DC, McCarthy has one of his former players in the running for Pittsburgh’s OC post.
The Steelers are planning to interview Saints assistant Scott Tolzien for their OC vacancy, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Tolzien is New Orleans’ QBs coach, but prior to that, he both played and coached under McCarthy.
Tolzien was one of Aaron Rodgers‘ backups in Green Bay from 2013-15. He then spent two years with the Colts and retired from playing in 2018. He went back to Wisconsin to start his coaching career as an analyst, which quickly led to a job on Mike McCarthy’s staff in Dallas in 2020. Tolzien was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2023 and oversaw a career-best performance from Dak Prescott, who finished in second place in MVP voting. The Cowboys struggled after Prescott’s season-ending injury in 2024, though Tolzien helped backup quarterback Cooper Rush compile a 4-4 record as a starter to close out the year.
McCarthy was fired after the season, and Tolzien reunited with former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in New Orleans. Tolzien took the quarterbacks coach job on Moore’s staff and worked with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough this past season. Shough took over the starting job midway through the year, worked through some first-year bumps, and led the Saints to a 4-1 record in their last five games.
The Steelers are still working through their list of offensive coordinator candidates, but they have made one key hire on that side of the ball. Longtime offensive line coach James Campen will be joining McCarthy’s staff, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Campen spent 15 years under McCarthy in Green Bay, including 12 years as the Packers’ offensive line coach. He also developed a close relationship with Aaron Rodgers during that time, which could be another factor in the veteran quarterback’s return to Pittsburgh in 2026.