Kevin O’Connell Praises Steelers 2026 OC
After Mike Tomlin stepped down in January, the Steelers hired Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy as their new head coach. He spent a few weeks building up his coaching staff, which was finalized on February 12th. McCarthy brought in many people that he had worked with before, including Brian Angelichio. He worked under McCarthy as the tight ends coach for the Green Bay Packers from 2016 until 2018. McCarthy named Angelichio the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator. This marks the first time that he’s in an offensive coordinator role at the NFL level.
McCarthy isn’t the only head coach to enjoy working with Angelichio. Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell gave a glowing endorsement of Angelichio. He was on O’Connell’s staff from 2022 until 2025. Angelichio served as the passing game coordinator and tight ends coach for the Vikings.
On Monday morning, O’Connell spoke to the media. He said, “Ang is a guy that I’ve coached with him in multiple spots, in multiple systems.” He added, “What always kept coming out was similar philosophical beliefs on how you attack people, specifically in the pass game; but Ang has a really good understanding of the run game, how to marry it together.” O’Connell remarked, “He’s been vital for me in the red zone over our four years together here. So when you look at it, whether it’s situational football, early down kind of success, and how you tie it all together, he is so prepared for this opportunity.”
O’Connell continued, “It’s long overdue for him to get to coordinate. It’s one of those things where you wish you could just keep guys like Ang. Selfishly, you wish you could keep them forever, but part of being a good head coach is hiring good coaches, and unfortunately, the rest of the league starts to notice their potential, and they get the opportunities they deserve. Ang is gonna do a great job for Mike.”
Prior to hiring McCarthy, the Steelers had almost always had a defensive-minded head coach. McCarthy has brought in some of the best offensive minds to his staff. The NFL has become offense-centric. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers improve under their new offensive-minded coaching staff.
