Hines Ward (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Former Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver and Super Bowl 41 MVP Hines Ward has landed himself a new major coaching position.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Ward has reached a deal to become the new wide receivers coach at Arizona State. The football program is coached by Kenny Dillingham, who just completed his first year on the job.
Ward spent his entire 14-year career with the Steelers, which spanned from 1998 to 2011. The four-time Pro Bowler helped the Steelers to Super Bowl championship in the 2005 and 2008 seasons, winning MVP honors in the club’s Super Bowl 41 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Six years after his playing career concluded, Ward returned to the Steelers in 2017 to serve as an offensive intern. From 2019 to 2020, he was an offensive assistant on the New York Jets for head coach Adam Gase.
Hines Ward Is A Legend In Pittsburgh
Ward is the Steelers’ all-time leader in receptions (1,000), receiving yards (12,083) and receiving touchdowns (85). Antonio Brown was on pace to break all those records before he demanded (and received) a trade in the 2019 offseason.
Given Ward’s incredible longevity and consistency, it will be awfully difficult for anyone to break his Steelers receiving records.
Ward put up elite numbers long before future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger arrived in 2004, a testament to the former’s all-world abilities. Three of Ward’s Four Pro Bowl nods came before No. 7 arrived, after all.