With Richard Mann finally calling it quits and retiring as the Pittsburgh Steelers receivers coach, who will inherit his position is now a big question for the team. The best guess for Mann’s successor right now, however, seems to be former Steelers wide receiver, Hines Ward.

For Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there have been some signs pointing to an eventual hiring of Ward as the Steelers’ next receivers coach.

With Mann retiring, plenty of speculation has centered on a return to the team from former Steelers receiver Hines Ward. Ward was present on the sideline for the team’s playoff loss to the Jaguars, and he was seen interacting with players in the way a coach would.

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Hines Ward donned Pittsburgh colors for 14 seasons as a player in the NFL. He was taken by the Steelers in the third round (92nd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft, and would go on to have an illustrious professional football career. Ward has two Super Bowl wins and also owns a Super Bowl MVP award. The former Georgia Bulldog finished his NFL career with 1,000 receptions, 12,083 receiving yards and 85 receiving touchdowns.

In case Ward becomes an official member of the Steelers’ coaching staff, he would join other former Pittsburgh players who now help head coach Mike Tomlin in managing the team.

Ward, the Super Bowl XL MVP, would be the fourth former Steelers player to join the coaching staff; former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter coaches the team’s outside linebackers coach, former Steelers linebacker Jerry Olsavsky is the team’s inside linebackers coach, and former Steelers safety Carnell Lake is the defensive backs coach.