PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s not exactly the call Hines Ward has been waiting for, but it’s the one he should get right now.
The Steelers all-time leading receiver has been up for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for eight years, what he needs to do is return to the black and gold. It seems so obvious that it shouldn’t need a story written about it.
As we discussed on the Fan Morning Show with Dorin Dickerson and Adam Crowley last week, time to hire Hines Ward as the new Steelers receivers coach.
As much as anyone in the history of the organization, Ward epitomized toughness. While blocking with the ferocity of a fullback, Ward also caught 1,000 passes. He had 10 seasons of over 60 receptions, six seasons of over 1,000 yards. He had 29, 100-yard games and 85 career touchdowns, another 10 in the postseason.
It’s instant credibility. Any receiver can look up Hines Ward on YouTube and see the evidence. It’s right there.
He’s also one of five Steelers Super Bowl MVPs. He can connect these younger players to when the team won championships. Oh, it may not seem that long ago to you and me, but George Pickens was seven-years-old when the Steelers last won a championship. The third-year receiver may not have recollection of the Steelers being on top of the NFL.
A third-round pick who was only 6’ and barely 200 pounds when drafted in the third round out of Georgia, Ward worked his way up from special teams to earn everything he received.
New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said he wanted to bring more physicality and toughness. He probably didn’t mean from his coaching staff, but who better to teach it than Ward.
Since ending his should-be Hall of Fame career, the now 47-year-old was an offensive intern for the Steelers in 2017, coached as an offensive assistant with the Jets for two years, even went back to college to coach for a season and then a head coach in the XFL last year.
It’s reunion time in Pittsburgh. It’s the perfect fit. It’s a position group in need of a coach and a former great ready to teach.
Don’t overthink this one, Hines Ward needs to be the new receivers coach.