New head coach Mike McCarthy stressed during his Pittsburgh Steelers introductory press conference Tuesday the coaching staff has been his priority the last few days. On Wednesday, McCarthy made his first staff addition at wide receivers coach.
NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reported the Steelers are hiring Adam Henry as their next receivers coach.
Henry coached wide receivers under McCarthy with the Dallas Cowboys from 2020-21. Over the past three seasons, Henry served in the same role with the Buffalo Bills.
Henry will replace Zach Azzanni, who was the Steelers wide receivers coach from 2024-25 under Mike Tomlin.
Mike McCarthy Hires Adam Henry as WR Coach: Report
McCarthy’s 31 years of NFL experience, including 18 seasons as a head coach, give him a vast range of coaching connections. In all likelihood, that means the Steelers are going to be adding a lot of former McCarthy assistants over the next several weeks.
Under McCarthy, Henry coached a Cowboys receiver room, which included rookie CeeDee Lamb in 2020. Lamb came into the league with first-round talent, but under Henry’s tutelage, the receiver posted more than 2,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons.
Henry began his coaching career at McNeese State in 1997. Over the past 28 years, he’s held various offensive coaching roles at the college and NFL levels.
His first NFL job was with the then Oakland Raiders as offensive quality control coach in 2007. Henry coached on the Raiders staff from 2007-11. During his final three seasons with the team, he was the Raiders tight ends coach.
After a three-year stint at LSU, Henry returned to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 2015. He coached wide receivers with the 49ers, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns from 2015-19 before joining the Cowboys.
In 2022, Henry returned to college to become a co-offensive coordinator at Indiana. Following one season, he came back to the NFL with the Bills.
Henry Replacing Steelers Previous WR Coach Zach Azzanni
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported on January 15 the Steelers told all of their assistants they weren’t going to be retained unless the next head coach rehired them.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and special teams coordinator Danny Smith landed new jobs since then. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is not expected to return under McCarthy either.
Pundits have argued some of Pittsburgh’s position coaches have a better chance to return. Azzanni, though, won’t be back.
Azzanni has coached in the NFL since 2017. Over the past nine seasons, he has served as wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and New York Jets, in addition to the Steelers.
In Pittsburgh, Azzanni helped George Pickens continue his development in 2024. However, Pickens made the biggest jump of his NFL career with the Cowboys this past season.
Azzanni, along with Tomlin, wasn’t able to turn 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson into a contributor. Wilson was a healthy scratch in most games by the end of his second season. Calvin Austin III suffered an injury last September and then had a disappointing 2025 statistical season as well.
The Steelers could re-sign Austin, but he is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. One of Henry’s top objectives should be to get a lot more out of Wilson in 2026.
In 14 NFL games, Wilson has posted 12 catches for 166 receiving yards with two touchdowns.
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