Hines Ward may be returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a full-time basis.

With the report that the Steelers expect Richard Mann to retire, there's a very good chance that Hines Ward will be Pittsburgh's new wide receiver coach for the 2018 season. Ward, who served as a coaching intern this past season, certainly made an impression on the team's receivers that included rookie receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“He said I am good, but I am not close to where he was,” Smith-Schuster told Steelers.com about a training camp conversation between himself and Ward, the franchise leader in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. “After every rep he told me what I can do better, the little things.

“I was asking about what he did to get to his level, how he was to be one of the greatest guys to come through this organization,” Smith-Schuster continued. “He told me do extra stuff after practice, conditioning, stuff like that.

“It’s super valuable. You take a guy like that and you just keep picking at his brain. What should I do? He tells us great information. It’s more motivation for me to be out there. It’s my first day back, but when you have him out here and we are doing blocking, which he is known for, you put it all on the line.”

Hines Ward worked closely with JuJu Smith-Schuster this training camp as a Steelers' coaching intern.

Ward's advice certainly hit home for Smith-Schuster, who set a franchise rookie record with 917 receiving yards while also become the youngest player in NFL history to score five touchdowns and amass over 1,000 total yards.

“I see me in him. It’s crazy,” Ward said of Smith-Schuster, who also showed Ward's toughness as a blocker this season. “I see the way he attacks it. Why not help this kid as much as I can. Helping my organization, helping him prosper and do stuff. I get enjoyment out of it.”

A semi-finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this season for the second straight year, Ward won two Super Bowls as a member of the Steelers from 1998-2011. Six years after his last down with the Steelers, it appears that Ward, the MVP on Super Bowl XL, may get the opportunity to win his third ring with the Steelers as a member of the team's coaching staff.