Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach and senior assistant Mike Sullivan has landed a new coaching job. After spending 2025 out of the sport, Sullivan will join the coaching staff at Rutgers as a senior offensive assistant, the same title he held with the Steelers in 2024. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the news.
Sources: Rutgers is set to hire veteran NFL coach Mike Sullivan as a Senior Offensive Assistant. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants as Eli Manning’s quarterbacks coach. He was Greg Schiano’s OC in Tampa and also worked with Broncos and Steelers. pic.twitter.com/j1atQtZcjZ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 12, 2026
Heading to Rutgers will reunite Sullivan with Greg Schiano, who serves as Rutgers’ head coach. Sullivan was Schiano’s offensive coordinator during his two-year stint as head coach from 2012-2013. It’s also a return to college for Sullivan, who’s exclusively coached in the NFL since 2002. His last college job was the defensive backs coach at Ohio in 2001. He’s also coached at the collegiate level at Humboldt State, Army and Youngstown State.
Sullivan was hired by the Steelers in 2021 as the team’s quarterbacks coach. He worked in that capacity until 2023, but when the Steelers hired Tom Arth in 2024, Sullivan was moved to a Senior Offensive Assistant role. He was not back with the team in 2025. When the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada mid-season in 2023, Sullivan was named the team’s new offensive play-caller. While running backs coach Eddie Faulkner had the interim offensive coordinator title, Sullivan worked with Faulkner and had a key role on game days.
Sullivan’s most extensive experience came with the New York Giants, where he was the receivers coach from 2004-2009 and quarterbacks coach from 2010-2011 and then again in 2015 season. He then became New York’s offensive coordinator from 2016-2017. Going to Rutgers brings Sullivan back to the New York/New Jersey area.
At just 59 years old, Sullivan could certainly find himself back in the NFL but for now will focus his attention to working with Schiano again and helping Rutgers. Last season, the Scarlett Knights went 5-7 after back-to-back 7-6 finishes. The team declined an invite to the Birmingham Bowl last year. It’s a program that’s struggled a bit since leaving for the Big 10, and Sullivan will provide another NFL voice in the locker room.
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