2020 Steelers Season Recall: Steelers hire several new position coaches
Steel City Underground presents our 2020 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.
If there’s one constant in the National Football League, it’s change: a reason why the initials “NFL” is often referred to as the “Not For Long” league.
The coaching carousel swings each season and the Steelers are no less immune to resist it. While this offseason is a reminder of coaching changes due to lackluster performances by staff or due to retirements, two new coaches joined Pittsburgh one year ago under similar, albeit different circumstances.
Ike Hilliard, who played 12 seasons of professional football between the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was hired as the Steelers new wide receivers’ coach. He was brought onto the staff to replace Ray Sherman, who had not anticipated coaching in 2019 but found himself in an interim role while visiting the team during training camp.
The Steelers previous receivers’ coach, Darryl Drake, had unexpectedly passed away two weeks into the preseason, leaving a void that Sherman agreed to fill temporarily.
The search for a permanent position coach began, with the ten-year veteran coach Hilliard ending up as the eventual hire. With two stints in Washington as well as stops in Miami and Buffalo, Hilliard was no stranger to coaching receivers, and would be looked upon to continue the legacy of Pittsburgh’s “receiver factory” that has produced a number of notable standouts at the position over the years.
For the other vacant position, the Steelers dipped into the college ranks to find a suitor.
Those who follow the Steelers college counterpart the University of Pittsburgh were all too familiar with coach Matt Canada, who spent time with the Panthers as an offensive coordinator. Canada became a rising name in the collegiate ranks, as according to Steelers.com:
[Canada’s] track record in college included his offensive units setting school records at multiple stops in his career, including Indiana, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, as well as at the University of Maryland in 2018 when he was the interim head coach.
The new coach would fill a position which wasn’t individually staffed in 2019, as offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner performed the roles of both OC and quarterbacks’ coach. Perhaps, due to the injury of Ben Roethlisberger, and the underwhelming play of inexperienced passers Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges, the team may have been seeking to take some responsibilities off of Fichtner’s plate.
However, the move was seen by many as potentially seeing Canada be promoted to offensive coordinator should Fichtner falter: a prophecy which was fulfilled just a few short weeks ago.
Each of the coaches continues on with the Steelers into 2021. Canada and Hilliard are two of the few position coaches on the offensive side of the ball who will remain with the team, in addition to running backs coach Eddie Faulkner as the Steelers not only moved on from Randy Fichtner, but also saw long-time tight ends coach James Daniel retire and decided not to renew offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett.
