Multiple insiders reported on February 8 that the Pittsburgh Steelers will hire Tom Arth as an offensive assistant. But not all of those reports agreed about what Arth’s role will be.
KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson reported first that the Steelers were hiring Arth for a passing game position. That’s the previously role he had with the Los Angeles Chargers.
About thirty minutes later, though, Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed that Arth will be joining the Steelers as their new quarterbacks coach.
In his article, Dulac also mentioned that the Steelers were considering promoting former quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan to a new position and that Zach Azzanni would be joining the team as wide receivers coach.
Dulac said on X (previously Twitter): “Steelers have hired former NY Jets assistant Zach Azzanni as WR coach and former Chargers assistant Tom Arth as QB coach, per team sources.” “They are still in talks with former QB coach Mike Sullivan about a deal.”
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo supported Dulac’s report with his own tweet another a half hour later.
“Reports of a passing game coordinator are inaccurate,” wrote DeFabo
Pittsbugh Steelers Adding Tom Arth to Coaching Staff
Clearly, there’s some confusion about what Arth’s role will be. But regardless of his position, the Steelers are landing a coach with experience working with a former first-round quarterback. Arth also has college head coaching experience on his resume.
Arth served as a pass game specialist with the Chargers from 2022-23. During his first season in Los Angeles, quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 4,739 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also saw an increase in his completion percentage (although his yards per attempt average dropped).
The Chargers didn’t retain Arth after hiring Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach this offseason.
From 2013 to 21, Arthur served as the head coach of three separate collegiate teams before joining the Chargers. He began his career at John Carroll, a Division III institution, where he guided the team to a 40-8 record in four seasons.
Sadly, Arth’s next two destinations proved to be far less successful. After coaching Chattanooga to a 9–13 record, he finished 3–24 in his tenure as head coach of Akron from 2019–21.
Arth played collegiate football at John Carroll and then was a member of the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts from 2003 to 2006. However, he was never seen in a regular season NFL game.
Steelers Also Hire Zach Azzanni as WR Coach
There were no contradictory rumors regarding Azzanni’s status. Azzanni was hired by the Steelers to coach wide receivers.
Since 2017, Azzanni has coached wide receivers in the NFL. That season, he began with the Chicago Bears and later played for the Denver Broncos from 2018 to 22. He was the wide receivers coach for the New York Jets in the previous campaign.
He was Urban Meyer’s assistant coach at Bowling Green in his early coaching career.
Both Arth and Azzanni were “Arthur Smith hires, or at least suggestions,” according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, who reported about them on X.Kaboly also stated that even though Arth is the team’s quarterback coach, he will still be responsible for tasks that other teams delegate to their pass game coordinator.
If Dulac is right, the Steelers might be re-signing Sullivan and adding Arth and Azzanni. However, it doesn’t seem clear what position Sullivan will play on the new Pittsburgh coaching staff.
From 2021 until 2023, Sullivan served as the team’s quarterbacks coach. In November, after Matt Canada was dismissed by the Steelers, he also took over as the play caller.
