The Steelers did not renew the contract of wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard following the 2021 season.
They have found a replacement.
Mike Tomlin on Tuesday hired former Browns and Jets wide receiver Frisman Jackson to take the place of Hilliard on his coaching staff.
Jackson, 42, joins the Steelers after spending the last two seasons with the Panthers, where he served as receivers coach in 2020 before becoming passing game coordinator/receivers coach in 2021.
The Panthers fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady after a 5-7 start, with senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon taking over those duties.
Jackson has made a number of stops at the collegiate level after a six-year career with the Browns and Jets. He jumped to the NFL in 2017 as wide receivers coach with the Titans on Mike Mularkey's staff. Mularkey and staff were fired at the conclusion of the 2017 season and Jackson was hired as wide receivers coach at Baylor under current Panthers head coach Matt Rhule.
Jackson then jumped back to the NFL in 2020 when Rhule was hired as head coach of the Panthers.
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New Steelers wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson
Jackson worked with D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson in Carolina. Both posted 1,000-yard seasons in 2020, though only Moore reached that total in 2021 as the Panthers struggled through a season in which they started multiple quarterbacks.
He now will be tasked with helping the Steelers revamp their wide receiving corps. Diontae Johnson just earned a trip to the Pro Bowl after his third NFL season, but Chase Claypool, a second-round pick in 2020, saw his numbers stagnate in 2021 after catching 62 passes for 873 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie.
Claypool followed up his rookie season with 59 catches for 860 yards, despite missing two games, but also caught just two touchdown passes.
Who the other receivers on the Steelers' roster might be remains to be seen. JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud all are slated to be unrestricted free agents in March.
Hilliard had been hired by Tomlin in 2020 after Ray Sherman served as interim wide receivers coach in 2019 following the death in training camp of longtime NFL assistant and Steelers wide receivers coach Darryl Drake.
Jackson has familiarity to members of the Steelers staff. He worked with offensive coordinator Matt Canada at Northern Illinois and North Carolina State, where he also worked with running backs coach Eddie Faulkner.
He also was a player with the Browns when Bruce Arians was the team's offensive coordinator and well-respected wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie was his position coach.
Tomlin still has openings for a defensive coordinator, outside linebackers coach and offensive line and assistant offensive line coach on his staff.
Defensive coordinator/outside linebackers coach Keith Butler retired at the end of the season, while offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan both left for other positions.
Senior defensive assistant/secondary coach Teryl Austin is expected to be elevated to replace Butler.
