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Steelers Great Hines Ward Out as XFL Coach

Pittsburgh Steelers great Hines Ward is no longer a coach for the

Stephen Thompson

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PITTSBURGH -- Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward will have to find a new team to work for if he wants to continue his coaching career in professional football. 

In a surprising bit of news from the XFL, the former Steelers standout, who had been one of the seven new head coaches in the league last year, is out as the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas and replaced by former Houston Roughnecks head coach, Wade Phillips, according to a report from James Larson of USFL Newsroom and Pro Football Network. 

Ward was selected to be the head coach for one of eight XFL squads in June of 2021 and was assigned to the San Antonio club in July of the following year. He spent just one season leading the Brahams and the team finished with a 3-7 record that left them out of the playoff picture by just one game. 

Before he was named head coach in San Antonio, Ward had taken positions with the New York Jets and Florida Atlantic Owls as an assistant coach. Ward also spent the 2017 season with the Steelers as an offensive intern. 

Ward, a former third-round pick of the Steelers out of Georgia, earned four consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2001 to 2004 and accounted for 1,000 or more receiving yards in each of those seasons. He is still campaigning for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and no Steeler has worn his No. 86 jersey since he retired in 2012. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

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