It didn't take long for Mike McCarthy's new hires to come flooding in. Shortly after his introductory press conference as the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, McCarthy named Patrick Graham as his new defensive coordinator, while adding several assistant coaches to his staff.
Now, the new Steelers head coach is gearing up to hire an offensive coordinator... and his top candidate has the most obvious ties to McCarthy imaginable.
On Thursday, ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler reported that the Steelers have notified the New Orleans Saints that they plan to interview Scott Tolzien for their vacant offensive coordinator role.
Tolzien is currently serving as the quarterback coach of the Saints, but his relationship with McCarthy runs deep and stretches back over 13 years.
Scott Tolzien's connection to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy runs deep
Tolzien, a former undrafted quarterback, joined the Green Bay Packers in his third NFL season in 2013, where McCarthy was the head coach. Tolzien would spend the next three seasons in Green Bay before leaving to become a backup QB for the Colts.
After starting his coaching career at the college ranks with the Wisconsin Badgers, Tolzien was hired by McCarthy in 2020 to be an offensive assistant for the Dallas Cowboys. After three years as an assistant, McCarthy made Tolzien the QB coach in Dallas for the 2023 and 2024 seasons—working closely with quarterback Dak Prescott.
In total, Tolzien has spent eight years with McCarthy, both as a quarterback and a fellow coach. This familiarity would make sense, and the stars are aligning for him to become the next hire of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
An offensive coordinator position would be a promotion for the current Saints' QB coach, though much of his responsibilities may remain the same. McCarthy has already made it clear that he will be calling the offensive plays in Pittsburgh.
However, Tolzien could be given the chance to leave New Orleans for a better franchise, and with the ability to work alongside his long-time coach again. Tolzien deserves some credit for what he helped rookie QB Tyler Shough do in his first NFL season in 2025.
At this time, the Scott Tolzien hiring isn't set in stone, and the Steelers also interviewed Cowboys tight end coach Lunda Wells for the position. Still, all signs point to Tolzien as the top choice for Mike McCarthy, and with such a long history of working together, it's not hard to see why.