The Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff went through an overhaul this offseason after Mike Tomlin stepped down. Mike McCarthy brought in his own guys at almost every spot. However, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth was one staff member who was retained. He’s been with the Steelers since 2024, and it wasn’t surprising that McCarthy kept him. While the two haven’t coached together yet, Arth played for McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers, and the new Steelers head coach is thrilled to have him on his staff.
“Tom made such an impression on me in his short time in Green Bay,” McCarthy said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings via the team’s website. “Him and Aaron [Rodgers], that was when you were still able to have the quarterback school where you’d start in the middle of March. And he was awesome. He was a sponge. No surprise at all that he went into coaching. He was a natural fit. I think what he’s put together, his career is exciting.
“I think Tom has a tremendously bright future. He would’ve definitely been a candidate even if he wasn’t already there. I’m excited to be reconnected with Tom and looking forward to getting that quarterback room right and having him own it like I was given that chance a long time ago. Tom’s an excellent coach.”
Arth wasn’t in Green Bay for long, only being with the Packers from March through July in 2006. That was also McCarthy’s first year as the Packers’ head coach, and while it was a long time ago, Arth’s knowledge clearly impressed McCarthy.
While Arth never appeared in an NFL regular-season game, he’s gradually climbed the coaching ladder. He began at John Carroll University in 2010, holding multiple roles at his alma mater, including head coach from 2013-2016. Then, he was the head coach at Chattanooga from 2017-2018. He held that same title at Akron from 2019-2021 before making the leap to the NFL.
Arth’s first NFL coaching job came as the pass-game specialist for the Los Angeles Chargers, a role he held from 2022-2023. Now, he’s with the Steelers, and he could follow in the footsteps of some of McCarthy’s other offensive assistants.
Like Arth, Scott Tolzien also played for McCarthy’s Packers. The two reunited with the Dallas Cowboys after McCarthy gave Tolzien his first NFL coaching job.
Tolzien quickly ascended from an offensive assistant to Dallas’ quarterbacks coach. Now, he’s in the same position with the New Orleans Saints, but he could graduate to offensive coordinator soon. The Steelers interviewed him for that position earlier this offseason.
Current Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer also spent time on McCarthy’s staff in Dallas. He began as a coaching analyst there in 2022 before earning the offensive coordinator job in 2023. He took over for McCarthy last year after the Cowboys parted ways with him.
Perhaps Arth will rise the ranks like that. Hopefully, he helps the Steelers find their next franchise quarterback before that happens. He hasn’t had a lot of young talent to work with in Pittsburgh yet, but that could change soon.
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