The Pittsburgh Steelers still tend to play old school football under Head Coach Mike Tomlin. He wants his squad year-in and year-out to control the time of possession and limit turnovers. As the seasons have gone on since he was hired in the 2007 offseason, the NFL has changed a lot. Teams are using analytics more than ever and because of this, the league has seen an uptick in new positions being opened. One of those is known as a football analyst or researcher, an individual who is present to help the coaching staff in a number of different ways.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin roams the practice field as his team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
The 2025 regular season is so close that fans can taste it, but the Steelers news that came out on Friday evening wasn't about the team's Week 1 contest against the New York Jets. Seth Walder of ESPN reported that Pittsburgh hired a new football researcher. Krithi Chandrakasan will now be in the Steel City to help Tomlin and General Manager Omar Khan.
The Steelers hired Krithi Chandrakasan into a football research role, per source.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) August 30, 2025
Chandrakasan previously was the Bears' Director of Football Analytics. He worked for the Chiefs before his stint in Chicago.
While the report from Walder cites sources, anyone could have caught onto Chandrakasan's hiring by taking a look at his LinkedIn profile page. What appears to be his account notes that he was hired by the Steelers in July of 2025. He had several roles with the Kansas City Chiefs, including Senior Data Scientist, and then he went on to be the Director of Football Analytics for the Chicago Bears.
An encouraging development in the hire is that Chandrakasan was with the Chiefs from September of 2019 to May of 2022, per LinkedIn. This stint means that he was a member of the Chiefs organization when Super Bowl LIV was won against the San Francisco 49ers. It's never bad to have someone around that has experienced a championship recently, so Chandrakasan should act as an integral part behind the scenes for Khan and Tomlin.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, General Manager Omar Khan, and Team President Art Rooney II stand on the field as the team practices during a training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Chandrakasan has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is one of the most highly-regarded schools throughout the United State of America.
Steelers Looking For Innovative Ways To Make The Team Better In 2025
It's not as if football researchers being hired is groundbreaking news, but it displays the fact that Pittsburgh is trying different ways to get better. Chandrakasan coming onboard was not announced by the team, nor would one expect it to be, but it came in a dull point of the offseason when the organization was likely brainstorming how to improve. Team President Art Rooney II does not open up his checkbook for just anybody, so bringing in Chandrakasan is a significant development.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers President Art Rooney II roams the sidelines as the team warms up prior to a 2022 preseason matchup at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
What do you think about the Steelers hiring a football researcher in the middle of the summers months? Let us know in the comments below!
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