Steelers plan to retain Mike Sullivan despite removing coaching responsibilities

The Steelers are keeping Mike Sullivan on this year’s coaching staff as a senior offensive assistant after he finished last season as Pittsburgh’s interim play caller.

The Steelers are retooling the offense after coach Mike Tomlin fired Matt Canada the week before Thanksgiving. Tomlin hired Arthur Smith as the new offensive coordinator. Smith had served as head coach of the Falcons for the past three seasons.

However, Tomlin kept a spot for Sullivan on the new staff. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Sullivan interviewed for the offensive coordinator job with the Saints and Raiders. He spent the past three seasons on the Steelers staff, the last two of them primarily working with quarterback Kenny Pickett. This coming season will be his 20th in the NFL.

The Steelers also hired Phil Matusz as the new head strength and conditioning coach. Also, Justus Galac will be an assistant strength coach. Matusz served as the strength coach at Boston College after working six years at Ohio State.

If you’ve been following all the off-season chatter, you know that the Steelers quarterback job is swirling with speculation. Is Pickett still the top guy? What about Mason Rudolph, who ended the season as QB1? Will the Steelers sign a veteran?

On Thursday, Sports Illustrated detailed the potential landing spots for Vikings veteran Kirk Cousins, who will be a free agent. SI wrote “outside of the 49ers, the Steelers make the most sense roster wise, and they could make a serious financial offer.”

SI continued “Cousins wouldn’t have to do the heavy lifting in Pittsburgh, which tends to have dominant defenses thanks to edge rusher T.J. Watt leading the charge. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see Cousins light up the scoreboard with a group that includes tight end Pat Freiermuth, wide receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, and running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The Steelers’ offense has been stagnant with quarterback Kenny Pickett the past two seasons. If Cousins decides to leave Minnesota, he has many good reasons for joining Pittsburgh.”

Meanwhile, the chatter about Justin Fields to the Steelers is calming. Instead, oddsmakers believe the Bears quarterback will land in Atlanta. A lot of that comes from the fact Fields grew up in the area. The current Bears quarterback said he doesn’t want Chicago to trade him. But it seems inevitable, given that the Bears own the top pick of next month’s draft.