Three OC Candidates Steelers Could Hire After Mike McCarthy

Alex Van Pelt

Born in Pittsburgh and drafted in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Steelers following a prolific career as a quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh, Van Pelt has some extensive ties to the area, the organization and McCarthy.

Van Pelt was the Packers' running backs (2012 -2013) and quarterbacks (2014 - 2017) coach under McCarthy, and he later landed his first OC job in the league with the Cleveland Browns from 2020 to 2023.

The 55-year-old then served as the New England Patriots' OC in 2024 under head coach Jerod Mayo and worked with Drake Maye during his rookie season, but the team averaged the second-fewest yads per game with 291.9.

Van Pelt left the Patriots after Mayo was fired, and he landed with the Los Angeles Rams as a senior offensive assistant this year, helping the team average the most yards (394.6) and points (30.5) under Sean McVay.

Scott Tolzien

A quarterback at the University of Wisconsin who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2011, Tolzien found his way to the Packers in 2013 and played for McCarthy through the 2015 campaign.

He then began his coaching career as an analyst at his alma mater in 2019 before McCarthy hired him to be a coaching assistant upon landing the Cowboys' job ahead of the 2020 campaign.

Tolzien later earned a promotion to quarterbacks coach in 2023, which is the same title he carried with the New Orleans Saints this past season under Moore.

Second-round rookie Tyler Shough looked like a potential long-term starter for New Orleans, and Tolzien deserves some credit for his development.

It would be quite the story if Tolzien were to handle OC duties under his former head coach in McCarthy, and it would be equally intriguing if Aaron Rodgers were to return to the Steelers considering he was his backup in Green Bay as well.

Tolzien is a bright up-and-coming offensive mind, and though he hasn't called plays up to this point, it'd be an inspiring, forward-thinking hire by McCarthy.

Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury has never coached under McCarthy, but he did spend the entire 2004 campaign as a quarterback on the Saints' practice squad in what was the latter's final year as the organization's OC.

A long-time collegiate coach, Kingsbury spent four seasons as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022 before being fired.

After serving as a senior offensive assistant at USC in 2023, Kingsbury became the Washington Commanders' OC under Dan Quinn in 2024. He oversaw Jayden Daniels' Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign while helping the team reach the NFC championship game for the first time since 1991.

The team didn't find nearly the same amount of success this year while Daniels contended with injuries, going 5-12 before Kingsbury and the team parted ways.

Viewed as a head coaching candidate in some circles this offseason, Kingsbury won't land such a job this cycle and instead is a prime name to watch for the several OC vacancies around the league.

They'll have some competition, but if McCarthy could land Kingsbury, that'd be a statement move right off the bat.