The Steelers three new coordinators, offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman all spoke on Friday.
Follow along for all of the latest from them.
Plenty to be excited about: Offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio has yet to step on the field with his unit, something that won't happen until next week when the team holds their voluntary minicamp.
But his enthusiasm for the group he has to work with isn't tempered at all by not seeing them in action yet.
"I'm excited about everybody," said Angelichio in his first press conference on Friday. "There's talent…the perimeter, the tight ends, the line, the runners. There's been a lot of success. We've got Will (Howard) as a young quarterback to develop. I'm just excited about the whole offense.
"Once we get on the grass Monday, we'll start at a low volume. Just to see what the guys can do, and then ultimately, we'll try to put them in the best position as we build the offense and move forward where they can succeed. I am excited about the group."
Angelichio spent the last four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as the teams passing game coordinator/tight ends coach. Prior to joining the Vikings, Angelichio spent two seasons as the tight ends coach for the Carolina Panthers (2020-21).
He also spent time with head coach Mike McCarthy in Green Bay as the team's tight ends coach from 2016-18, among other roles.
Coming to Pittsburgh, he knows what the expectations are and what needs to be delivered.
And that comes with physical play on offense. Which is something he embraces.
"When you look at this great organization, the history, the six Lombardis and what the Rooney family has built, that is the Pittsburgh Steelers, physical, tough, explosive style of football," said Angelichio. "And Coach will say it, when you get into December and playoff football, you've got to be able to run the football.
"So, that's something that has been in this city and been in this DNA. And that's something I believe in. You've got be a tough, physical team. You've got to be able to run it when they know you're going to run it, and we'll certainly strive to continue that."
Angelichio will work hand-in-hand with McCarthy, who will be the play-caller, on the offense, building a scheme that combines that physicality with a quarterback friendly mentality.
"You're just trying to develop a scheme that is quarterback friendly," said Angelichio. "And you'll hear Coach McCarthy say this all the time, and this is coach's philosophy. Everything goes through the quarterback, and it will here, and it has through Coach McCarthy's entire time of coaching. That's really all that it is.
"You try to get concepts that they're comfortable with, and Coach McCarthy will say that if the quarterback's not comfortable with something, then we're not going to do it. It doesn't matter what the plays are, it's about the training of the quarterback and the comfort level."
Right now, the Steelers have second-year quarterback Will Howard and veteran Mason Rudolph on the roster. That will change, but for now, Angelichio likes what he sees from those in the building, especially the potential of Howard.
"I really enjoy Will," said Angelichio. "He's got a great personality. He's been impressive in the quarterback room. Obviously, we haven't gone out on the grass with him, but his ability to communicate, articulate, pick up the scheme, like with all the guys and Mason, it's been really impressive."
More from Angelichio:
On being hired by the Steelers:
"It was an organic process. Things happen fast in this business. I was obviously very excited when Coach called me and having the opportunity to come down and visit and certainly blessed for the opportunity."
On the relationship with Coach McCarthy as the playcaller for the offense:
"Obviously, Mike will call the plays, and he'll be involved in the meetings as much as he can. There's not something that we do as an offense that Mike hasn't got in front of him at some point. We'll obviously forge on, make decisions, and he'll be aware of the decisions we made.
"If there are decisions that he's not comfortable with or he sees a different way, we'll obviously work together to get the best results. And that's really what you want on any offensive staff."
On the importance of having the players in attendance for the offseason programs, in particular OTAs:
"I think with all our players, anytime you get an opportunity to get all the positions out there working together, you feel good about that. I think that's important for everyone, and obviously the quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, the perimeter, that all plays into it."
On the Steelers tight ends, in particular Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington:
"They're a great group. In this league, you have to have the ability to run block and certainly catch the ball. Pat's had a lot of success doing that here. Darnell coming out of Georgia, he was athletic. I remember him, everybody remembers the play when he hurled the guy on the sideline. So, he's athletic. You saw him in the red zone last year. They did a great job. Aaron (Rodgers) trusted him to go up and get the ball. I think where the league's at, the more flexible and more job responsibilities those tight ends can have, whether they're in pass protection as the sixth protector, or whether they are releasing on a route in the passing game or the play passes, that gives you the flexibility for the defense. And I think we're blessed with those two."
On how much input he has in Draft preparation:
"We've been going pretty hard on the offense. We've been in Draft meetings with (general manager) Omar (Khan) and his group. And they do a great job in personnel. And they have done a phenomenal job of getting us the stuff we need. We'll have film. We'll evaluate the tape. We meet as an offense with the scouts and with Coach. And everybody gives their opinion on players. Ultimately, they'll set the draft board, but I feel like we're in a really good place and our scouting department made it really easy for us."
On receiver Michael Pittman Jr.:
"Obviously we're excited about Pitt, just like we are with all our receivers. I think he'll be a great complement for DK (Metcalf), certainly a great complement for the tight ends and the runners, open up holes. Just gives us a guy that is another big body guy that's got really good hands and has done a really good job of moving the chains in this league."
Vision in place: The new defensive boss is in charge on his side of the ball.
But new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham also emphasized today that what he calls and when will still fit both a grand design of how the Steelers want to play and what the players are capable of executing more than it will personnel preference.
"You want to have it be in the vision of what the (head) coach has for the team, I think that's important," Graham stressed. "But yes, I'm calling the defenses and putting together the scheme.
"I don't have to come up with any gimmicks here at Pittsburgh. There's not going to be any slogans, it's 'Steel Curtain.' I told the players when I first met with them, 'We're trying to earn our position in that tradition in 2026.' And that's why I'm so excited to be here."
Graham has worked for the Patriots, the Giants (twice), the Packers, the Dolphins and the Raiders previously, including stints as a defensive coordinator in Miami, New York and Las Vegas.
His goal coordinating the Steelers' defense will be to continue to be more adaptable than recognizable.
"There's no 'Pat Graham playbook,'" Graham maintained. "The playbook evolves once I get around the guys.
"We know what the roster configuration is going to be like, a 3-4 roster configuration. There's going to be sprinkles of that, sprinkles of 'four down' (a four-man front). But the playbook evolves based on me getting to know the players. I have my principles. I have the things that I want to do. But to truly get a grasp of the scheme, it evolves as we go along figuring out these players and what they do best."
In terms of the size of the players doing the doing, bigger is better.
"You take a look at my time at New England, my time at the Giants, and then over the history here at Pittsburgh, you're gonna notice they have big men on the roster, that's the most important part," Graham said.
"When you start to talk about the 3-4, the big guys on the roster, you have people like Cam (Heyward), you have 'K.B.' (Keeanu Benton), you have (Yahya) Black, you have (Derrick) Harmon. These are big human beings, that's where you find those guys right there. Pittsburgh's been really disciplined, and that's a credit to (General Manager) Omar (Khan) and Mr. Rooney (Steelers president Art Rooney II) and the organization. They've been really disciplined in terms of that profile and that's served them well."
Graham also shed some light on how he likes to call a game.
"I'll narrow down what we're gonna do schematically on early downs," he said. "I'm not big on having a lot of different schemes for early downs. We'll find ways to be multiple within it but I try to keep it in five buckets for them there. What I tell them is, 'We're gonna get really good at this, knock out the run game, prevent shots on early-down passing game. And then we'll get to the second-and-long and third down, that's when we get to the fun stuff.'
"The fun stuff, that's where the imagination goes wild. And the funny thing, I tell them all the time, 'You guys might forget something we installed on Day One that had to deal with early-down, base defense. But if we come up with some funky third-own blitz package or whatever that you might get a sack, they ain't gonna forget that.'
"That's my approach in terms of those passing downs, having a little fun with it in terms of that schematically. But really we're not gonna try to venture too far off from what this city, what you guys have been known for. I keep talking about earning our place in that tradition. We have to do a good job of playing hard-nosed, physical football. you have to have an intimidating play style.
"The first two weeks, the meetings I've had with the players it's more about how we're gonna play and then the vision I have as the coordinator of how we're gonna play, how we're gonna get this stuff done before we even get into a call."
-- by Mike Prisuta
Crossman appreciates Steelers' innate toughness: Danny Crossman may have been born in El Paso, but he feels as if he's come back home as the Steelers' new special teams coordinator.
"The Pittsburgh Steelers, it's an iconic franchise," said Crossman. "I spent four fabulous years at the University of Pittsburgh. It's a wonderful city. I love it."
Crossman followed Mike Gottfried here from both of their stops at Kansas – Crossman as the player and Gottfried as the coach at Pitt in the late 1980s.
Crossman was a starting cornerback and fullback in separate seasons at Pitt, but he was also a core special-teamer. He learned that part of the game under coordinator Scott O'Brien, who later hired Crossman for his first coaching job in the NFL. Crossman rose from his role as O'Brien's assistant at Carolina to succeeding him as Carolina's special teams coach and coordinator.
Seventeen years and four coordinator jobs later, Crossman has returned "home" with the Steelers.
What does he love about Pittsburgh?
"You name it," Crossman said. "The people, the neighborhoods, the passion. I mean walk down the street on Saturday, tomorrow, with the Buccos playing, with the Penguins in the playoffs, you're going to see a lot of gold and black and a lot of excitement, buzz in this city. That doesn't happen everywhere. The passion that the fans have, it's a special place in my opinion."
Crossman has already set about finding replacements for the loss of five of the Steelers' core special-teamers from last season. But back are the three most oft-used special-teamers: Jack Sawyer (20 special-teams snaps per game played), Payton Wilson (19.5 average snaps), and Pro Bowler Ben Skowronek (18.2).
"There are a lot of outstanding young men who have had success," said Crossman. "And then, in my opinion, there are a lot of good young men with nothing ahead but great opportunities for them to be successful. So, the one good thing about a clean slate, for both as a coach and as a player, no roles have been defined for anybody. Those guys are going to determine and they're going to identify and they're going to show us what their roles are going to be.
"My philosophy to everything is once you establish your role, excel in that role until it changes. I've had guys that have been two-phase players in Week 1, they're four-phase players in Week 6, and by Week 12 I don't get them because they're playing 65 plays on offense or defense. So, those roles change, but whatever your role is, daily, or weekly, excel in that role and don't worry about the rest of it.
"I don't worry about the past. I'm worried about the present. So, getting better every day with every single guy we have. I don't care who it is, whoever Mike (McCarthy) and Omar (Khan) and the organization puts in my room, we're going to coach the daylights out of them and try and get them better."
Does Crossman have a style of play that he embraces?
"The first thing is, every team I've been with, the identity of that team ends up playing to the division, because the ultimate goal is you want to win," he said. "When I've been in some of the NFC South, in Carolina, in Miami, speed, athleticism, that was the way the game was played. Buffalo, because of the city and playing in the elements, the team was built more to play in that type of situation. So the good thing is about this team, one thing you're not going to have to bring is the element of toughness.
"The element of toughness has been the Pittsburgh Steelers since I was a kid. That's the starting point to playing good football, and especially to be able to get where we really want to get to, which is winning games and getting to the playoffs, and then ultimately put the seventh (Lombardi Trophy) up there on that second floor that I get to walk by every day.
"So, toughness, discipline, smart football is what we're going to try and play in the kicking game."
- By Jim Wexell
