Steelers Replacing Pat Meyer With New O-Line Coach

Mike McCarthy just took over as the Steelers head coach and now has someone on the offensive line that he has previously worked with.

The Steelers have a young group down their on the offensive line and Campen is now tasked with making them one of the better units in the NFL.

James Campen Background

Campen played center at both Tulane in college and then also in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints for three seasons, 1986-88, and then the Green Bay Packers for five seasons, 1989-93, appearing in 67 games.

He started coaching in the NFL in 2004 with the Packers, serving as their assistant offensive line coach/quality control coach for two seasons.

Campen then became assistant offensive line coach, specifically, in 2006, the first year that McCarthy served as head coach of the Packers.

McCarthy then promoted Campen to offensive line coach in 2007 and had him in that role the final 12 seasons he was in Green Bay. Campen also worked as the run game coordinator in 2018, his final season with the team.

The duo won Super Bowl XLV in 2010, defeating the Steelers 31-25, their only championship together.

Campen then worked with the Cleveland Browns as the associate head coach under head coach Freddie Kitchens and offensive line coach as well, before Kitchens was dismissed at the end of the campaign.

He then served as offensive line coach with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, the Houston Texans in 2021 and then the Carolina Panthers for two seasons, 2022-23, his most recent coaching stop.

Campen joins another member of McCarthy's staff on the Steelers that have previous experience with him in linebackers coach Scott McCurley, who he retained from Mike Tomlin's staff.

Steelers Offensive Line Outlook for 2026

The Steelers have a few players that the franchise have prioritzed early in the NFL Draft as the next key pieces of their offensive line for the forseeable future.

This includes center Zach Frazier, 2024 second round pick out of West Virginia, right tackle Troy Fautanu, 2024 first round pick out of Washington, left tackle Broderick Jones, 2023 first round pick out of Georgia and guard Mason McCormick, 2024 fourth round pick out of South Dakota State

All four players are crucial for the success of the Steelers offense under Mike McCarthy and his future quarterback and options around him.

The Steelers greatest success last decade on offense came with a strong offensive line, with the likes of center Maurkice Pouncey and guard David DeCastro leading the way on the ground and through the air.

Campen now has a reponsibility into molding these young offensive linemen into the future stars of the offense and getting the Steelers back to the Super Bowl.