New head coach Mike McCarthy is expected to keep three holdovers from the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff. Per the PPG’s Gerry Dulac, QBs coach Tom Arth, ILBs coach Scott McCurley, and DBs coach Gerald Alexander are all expected to be retained.

Mike McCarthy expected to bring back three members of Mike Tomlin’s staff – linebackers coach Scott McCurley, who was on his staff in Dallas; QB coach Tom Arth and secondary coach Gerald Alexander, per sources.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) January 28, 2026

We’ve previously noted the likelihood of McCurley and Arth staying. Both have ties to McCarthy. McCurley and McCarthy worked for over a dozen years together. When McCarthy became the Green Bay Packers’ head coach in 2006, he hired McCurley for his first NFL job. He remained on staff throughout McCarthy’s tenure until McCarthy was fired in 2018. When the Dallas Cowboys hired McCarthy in 2020, he brought McCurley in as the team’s inside linebackers coach. The two were together for McCarthy’s five season with the team.

Pittsburgh hired McCurley in 2025 to replace Aaron Curry as its inside linebackers coach.

A quarterback, Arth briefly played for McCarthy in 2006 while a member of the Packers. And keeping Arth will maintain continuity for a young quarterback like Will Howard, who is already undergoing an offensive coordinator, head coach, and scheme change. The Steelers hired Arth in 2024. On an expiring contract, the team will need to sign him to a new deal but that shouldn’t be an obstacle in keeping him on staff.

While Alexander doesn’t have direct ties to Alexander, Dulac previously reported that the Steelers are close to hiring Patrick Graham as their new defensive coordinator. Graham and Alexander coached together during the 2024 season with the Las Vegas Raiders. Alexander did a solid job in 2025 as the team’s secondary coach, furthering CB Joey Porter Jr.’s career as he became a more consistent and less-penalized player.

Assuming the rest of the staff is not retained, notable coaches who won’t be back include OL coach Pat Meyer, RBs coach Eddie Faulkner, and DC Teryl Austin. Known coaches who won’t be retained are STs coordinator Danny Smith, OC Arthur Smith, WRs coach Zach Azzanni, and DL coach Karl Dunbar.