PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers did not choose between Jerry Olsavsky and Joey Porter when they stayed in-house to hire a new linebackers coach.
They promoted both.
The team announced Friday that Olsavsky has been elevated to inside linebackers coach and Porter to outside linebackers coach.
They had been defensive assistants, and fill the void left when longtime Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler replaced Dick LeBeau as the team’s defensive coordinator.
The moves allow the Steelers to maintain some continuity on a defensive coaching staff that will have its first new coordinator since 2004, and also play to the strengths of Olsavsky and Porter.
Olsavsky played linebacker in the NFL from 1989-98, with all but one of those seasons coming with the Steelers. He has been on coach Mike Tomlin’s coach since 2010, and Olsavsky has helped develop young inside linebackers such as Vince Williams and Sean Spence. He will continue to work closely with Ryan Shazier, the Steelers’ first-round draft pick last year.
Porter spent just one season as a defensive assistant on Tomlin’s staff before receiving a promotion. But Porter, who is fifth on the Steelers’ all-time sacks list with 60, will be a key figure working with the players at the position he excelled at during his 13-year NFL career.
Porter supplied a jolt of energy to the coaching staff last season, and his credentials as a pass-rusher could help the Steelers improve on the sack numbers that have declined since Pittsburgh last played in the Super Bowl.
The Steelers led the NFL with 48 sacks in 2010. They have averaged 34.8 sacks in their past four seasons.
