Help for Canada? Steelers Hire Veteran Offensive Assistant

The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Glenn Thomas an an offensive assistant coach, a new position to the coaching staff for 2023, the team announced on Wednesday.

Thomas, 45, was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Arizona State in 2022. He has primarily been college assistant lately, working as offensive coordinator at UNLV in 2020-21, Baylor from 2017-19 and Temple in 2016 after also spending one season as the Owls’ quarterback coach in 2015.

While at Baylor, under head coach Matt Rhule, current Steelers wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson worked for Thomas. At Temple, he was the offensive coordinator when Kenny Pickett first committed to the Owls, before first getting recruited by Pitt.

Thomas does have NFL experience, all of which came in a seven-year run with the Atlanta Falcons. Under then-coach Mike Smith and offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, Thomas was an offensive assistant in Atlanta from 2008-11. In 2012, under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, Thomas was promoted to quarterbacks coach, where he worked with Matt Ryan. He was not retained by Atlanta when Smith was fired, and returned to the college ranks.

Before being discovered by the Falcons, Thomas spent eight seasons at Division II Midwestern (Texas) State, rising from graduate assistant to offensive coordinator. He also had a three-year run at his alma mater, Texas Tech, as a grad assistant, spanning the tenures of Spike Dykes and Mike Leach.

Thomas is a native of Eastland, Texas. His addition gives the Steelers 10 coaches on the offensive side of the ball. The title of offensive assistant is a new one for the team, and his represents a new position. The team lost assistant wide receivers coach Blaine Stewart to West Virginia earlier in the offseason. That has been the only coaching change on the offensive side of the ball.