Hines Ward has tried his hand at different careers after his retirement as an NFL wide receiver.
His latest venture on that journey will be with Florida Atlantic's football team as an assistant to the program's receiver coach Joey Thomas. It will be Ward's fourth year working as a coach, but his first coaching in college.
Source: Former #Steelers and #Georgia wide receiver Hines Ward is set to join #FloridaAtlantic's coaching staff. Ward, who played 14 NFL seasons, spent 2019-20 as a Jets offensive assistant. @FAU_Owls_Nest first reported the move, noting Ward will work with WRs coach Joey Thomas.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) April 21, 2021
After working at NBC as a sports broadcaster, Ward got his start coaching as a coaching intern with the Steelers during the 2017 season. He would later work as an offensive assistant coach for the Jets under Adam Gase in 2019 and 2020, but with the staff changing under new head coach Robert Saleh, he needed to find a new place to continue his career.
The Steelers recently hired Ike Hilliard in 2020 as a receiver coach after the team's longtime receiver coach Darryl Drake passed away during the Steelers' training camp in 2019. Ward returning to the Steelers as a receivers coach, even if both parties were interested, wouldn't have worked with that timing.
But nobody can deny the allure of such a possibility. Ward reshaped the Steelers' receiver room after being drafted by the team in 1998. He earned four consecutive Pro Bowls from 2001 to 2004, including winning two Super Bowls with the Steelers, three AFC Championships, an Super Bowl XL MVP. His 1000 catches for 12,083 receiving yards and 85 receiving touchdowns, all which are the most in the Steelers' history.
Before Ward might get a chance to coach the Steelers receiver room, if it ever would happen, he may need to have multiple successful ventures working as an assistant in other college programs and/or NFL teams.