STEELERS HIRE SCOTTIE MONTGOMERY

Thankfully, it appears we've finally reached the end of the Steeler coaching staff stories, as the team hired 31-year-old Scottie Montgomery to coach the wide receivers. As Scott Brown notes in his Trib story, Montgomery is actually two years younger than one of his pupils, 33-year-old Hines Ward. That should be an interesting dynamic.

Montgomery was the second-leading WR in Duke Blue Devil history, entering the NFL in 2000 as a free agent with the Denver Broncos, moving on to Oakland in 2003 and ending his pro career with the Arena League's Georgia Force in 2005. He finished with modest NFL totals of 16 catches, 160 yards, and one TD for his career.

Montgomery entered the coaching field in 2006, returning to his alma mater as the wide receivers coach, where he's remained until now. According to the Duke website, "Montgomery has tutored two of the finest wide receivers in Duke history in Eron Riley and Jomar Wright."

I'm sure that's a great accomplishment that Montgomery is very proud of. Fortunately, the Steelers' wide receiver options are better than Eron Riley and Jomar Wright. As a matter of fact, they line up two Super Bowl MVPs and one of the top deep threats in the league as a third option. So my only concern with this hire would be credibility with his players. Then again, I can't remember hearing two peeps about previous WR coach Randy Fichtner (who is now in charge of the team's QBs), and that arrangement seemed to work out well for everyone involved, as Fichtner's Super Bowl ring would indicate.

Steelers find new wide receivers coach [Trib]

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EVEN MORE STEELER COACHING NEWS

Anyone else tired of Steeler assistant coach news? If that's the case, you might want to skip this post, because the action is still fast and furious at Steeler HQ.

The team announced today that Randy Fichtner, the current Steeler WR coach, will be re-assigned to QB coach, effective immediately.

Fichtner coached the QBs at Memphis from 1990-93 and 2001-06, when he was also the Tigers' offensive coordinator. His prize pupil during his first stint at the school was WR Isaac Bruce, who now ranks fifth all-time in the NFL in career receptions. The second time around at his alma mater, Fichtner's superstar player was RB DeAngelo Williams, who would go on to be the Carolina Panthers first-round pick in 2006. For a school not exactly known as a football powerhouse, those are two nice names to have on the resume.

Fichtner also held the QB coach position from 1997-2000 at Arkansas State, where he worked alongside Mike Tomlin and mentored QB Cleo Lemon, who rewrote the school's record book en route to a gig in the NFL. This would also explain the Steelers' interest in signing Lemon in a moment of need last season after Kansas City sent two of their quarterbacks to the ER in the same game.

Fichtner joined Tomlin's staff in 2007 and his receivers have experienced virtually nothing but success on his watch. I'm guessing that his familiarity with the personnel with make this a seamless transition with his new unit.

In other Steeler coaching news, former LBs Jerry Olsavsky and Earl "The Hit Man" Holmes are candidates to replace defensive assistant Lou Spanos, who recently took a job on Mike Shanahan's Washington staff.

"Jerry O", who hails from Youngstown, Ohio, was most recently employed by Youngstown State as coach of the linebackers. He was let go along with the rest of the staff at the end of the season. Olsavsky had a solid career at Pitt and entered the league as a 10th round pick of the Steelers in 1989, where he lasted until 1997. He also spent time in the Cincinnati and Baltimore organizations at the end of his career. Since leaving the pro game, Olsavsky has coached at Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina in addition to YSU.

Holmes, a fourth-round pick of the Steelers in 1996 out of Florida A&M, was with the team through 2001. He had a colorful and productive career in Pittsburgh before signing with Cleveland in 2002 and moving on to Detroit, where he played from 2003-2005.

Fichtner Takes Over As Steelers' QBs Coach [WTAE]
Former Steelers Olsavsky and Holmes candidates for assistant job [PG]

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