Report: Raiders to interview Steelers QB coach Mike Sullivan for offensive coordinator opening

The Las Vegas Raiders have their eye on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan for their open offensive coordinator spot after he impressed as the Steeler play-caller this season. once OC Matt Canada was let go.

The report of Las Vegas’ interest in Sullivan came from the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, who posted the following tweet Wednesday morning:

“The Raiders will interview Steelers QB coach Mike Sullivan for their offensive coordinator job, sources say. Sullivan, who called plays this season after Matt Canada was fired, was an assistant on Tom Coughlin’s Giants staff while Antonio Pierce captained the defense.”

Sullivan could be a name to watch for the Raiders, since he and new head coach Antonio Pierce do have a history together dating back to their days with the Giants, where Sullivan was the offensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017 and had previously served as WRs coach from 2004-2009, then as QBs coach in 2010 and 2011 before returning to that same role in 2015 before he was promoted to OC.

Background on Antonio Pierce

By Nikki Chavanelle

The Raiders have named Antonio Pierce as the permanent head coach after he concluded the 2023 season as the interim. After moving on from former head coach Josh McDaniels, the team promoted Antonio Pierce to fill in as interim head coach and they finished the season with five wins and four losses under Pierce’s guidance.

A Long Beach, California native, Pierce went to Arizona following two years at Mount San Antonio College. He went undrafted out of the Wildcats football program but landed with the Redskins and made eight starts as a rookie. Once he made the move to the New York Giants, he became the team’s starting middle linebacker and a defensive team captain.

As a player, Pierce ended his career with a Super Bowl ring from the Giants’ 2008 run. He had 95 tackles that season, along with 10 more during the postseason. He retired in 2010 after his release from the Giants.

Though he planned to become an ESPN commentator, the football field called him home. He started his coaching journey in 2014 at Long Beach Poly High School where he stayed for several seasons before taking over as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator for Arizona State in 2018. He became a co-defensive coordinator under Herm Edwards and eventually replaced him as head coach amid an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations.