PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on steelersnow.com.
The Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson on Monday. With Jackson gone, the first true position coaching spot will be open on the Steelers staff under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Jackson spent two seasons with the team with turmoil in the room in the public sphere abound and a lack of development from a guy like Chase Clapyool ending up in his dismissal.
There are plenty of questions about who could land the open job, but the one name that will be discussed is Hines Ward. The former Steelers wide receiver nearly became the coach years ago, but circumstances prevented that. Instead, Ward has gone on a football odyssey as a coach. He started with Pittsburgh in 2017 but landed with the New York Jets as an offensive assistant for two years from 2019 to 2020, before accepting the wide receivers coach job at Florida Atlantic. Then, Ward would be the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas for just one season before being let go this winter.
All that said, Ward does not have the standout qualifications as a coach to be the favorite for that job. What he does have, though, is the connection between the organization and the aura of what the Smith offense wants. Ward is an old-school, blocking-first mentality guy who could bring one of the most essential attributes to a room that needs it the most. Knowing how the team was like during its last dominant period is another feather in the cap of Ward.
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