I needed a distraction from the Pittsburgh Steelers; still need a few hours to transition from the last game to thinking about the upcoming game in Kansas City. To help me through, I looked at the coaching staffs from the 31 teams in the NFL.
My exercise was to see how many coaches have some link to Pittsburgh. Former Steelers coaches or players; Burghers who are from Pittsburgh or played/coached at a local school.
I spotted over 50 coaches with some Burgher ties including nine head coaches. OK, I stretched it a little by including some subBurghers who are a generation removed from their Black & Gold roots. I estimate that about 8% of all NFL coaches have some Burgher roots. Not bad when you consider that Pittsburgh’s population is less than 1% of the national total.
There are probably several gaps – let me know who I missed.
| Team | Name | Position | Connection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Bob Babich | LB Coach | Burgher (Aliquippa) Pitt coach |
| New England Patriots | Bill Belichick | Head Coach | subBurgher (Father from Monessen) |
| New England Patriots | Raymond Ventrone | Asst Special Teams | Burgher (Pittsburgh) |
| New York Jets | Kevin Greene | LB Coach | Steeler player 1993-95 |
| Baltimore Ravens | Bobby Engram | WR Coach | Penn State player/Pitt Coach |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Marvin Lewis | Head Coach | Steeler coach 1992-95 Burgher (McDonald) |
| Cincinnati Bengals | James Urban | WR Coach | Clarion grad asst |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Jonathan Hayes | TE Coach | Steeler player 1994-96 Burgher (S. Fayette) |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Jim Haslett | LB Coach | Steeler DC 1997-99 Burgher (Pittsburgh) |
| Cleveland Browns | Kirby Wilson | RB Coordinator | Steeler RB Coach 2007-13 |
| Houston Texans | Bill O’Brien | Head Coach | Penn State HC 2012-13 |
| Houston Texans | Mike Vrabel | Defense Coordinator | Steeler player 1997-2000 |
| Houston Texans | John Butler | DB Coach | Penn State DB coach 2012-13 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Jim Philbin | Asst HC/OL | W&J, Allegheny coach |
| Indianapolis Colts | Jim Hostler | TE Coach | IUP coach 9 seasons |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Tom Myslinski | Strength/Condition | Steeler player 1996-97, 2000 |
| Tennessee Titans | Mike Mularkey | Head Coach | Steeler player 1989-91 coach 1996-2003 |
| Tennessee Titans | Dick Lebeau | DC/Asst HC | Steeler DC 2004-14 coach 1992-96 |
| Tennessee Titans | Russ Grimm | OL Coach | Steeler coach 2001-06 |
| Tennessee Titans | Nick Eason | DL Coach | Steeler player 2007-10 |
| Tennessee Titans | Keith Willis | Asst DL Coach | Steeler player 1982-91 |
| Tennessee Titans | Lou Spanos | LB Coach | Steeler coach 1995-2009 Burgher |
| Tennessee Titans | Deshea Townsend | DB Coach | Steeler player 1998-2009 |
| Denver Broncos | Fred Pagac | OLB Coach | Burgher (Brownsville) |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Ken Whisenhut | Offense Coordinator | Steeler coach 2001-06 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | John McNulty | TE Coach | Penn State grad |
| Oakland Raiders | Rod Woodson | CB Coach | Steeler player 1987-96 |
| New York Giants | Bob McAdoo | Head Coach | Burgher (Indiana Pa) played at IUP |
| New York Giants | Frank Cignetti Jr | QB Coach | IUP/Pitt coach Burgher |
| New York Giants | Kevin Gilbride | subBurgher son of Steeler OC Kevin Gilbride | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Duce Staley | RB Coach | Steeler player 2004-06 |
| Washington Redskins | Matt Cavanaugh | Offense Coordinator | Pitt QB & coach |
| Washington Redskins | Jim Tomsula | DL Coach | Burgher (Homestead) |
| Chicago Bears | John Fox | Head Coach | Steeler coach 1989-91 Pitt DC 1986-88 |
| Detroit Lions | Jim Caldwell | Head Coach | Penn State coach 1986-92 |
| Detroit Lions | Al Golden | TE Coach | Penn State player 1987-91 |
| Green Bay Packers | Mike McCarthy | Head Coach | Burger |
| Green Bay Packers | Alex Van Pelt | QB Coach | Burgher; Steeler roster 1993 |
| Green Bay Packers | Dom Capers | Defense Coordinator | Steeler DC 1992-94 |
| Green Bay Packers | Darren Perry | Safety Coach | Steeler player 1992-98 coach 2003 |
| Green Bay Packers | Ron Zook | Special Team Coach | Steeler coach 1996-98 |
| Minnesota Vikings | Kennedy Polamalu | RB Coach | subBurgher Troy’s uncle |
| Carolina Panthers | Jerricho Cotchery | WR Coach | Steeler player 1011-13 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Bruce Arians | Head Coach | Steeler OC/coach 2004-11 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Tom Moore | Asst HC/OC | Steeler OC/coach 1977-89 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Byron Leftwich | QB Coach | Steeler player 2008, 2010-12 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Larry Zierlien | Asst OL Coach | Steeler coach 2007-09 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Brentson Buckner | DL Coach | Steeler player 1994-96 intern 2010-12 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Larry Foote | ILB Coach | Steeler player 2002-08, 2010-13 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Amos Jones | Special Team Coach | Steeler coach 2007-12 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Jeff Zgonina | DL Coach | Steeler player 1993-94 |
They paid their dues; They’ve probably told their team’s there is no room for losers at some point. It’s no bed of roses or a pleasure cruise; you’ve got to fight until the end to be able to say, We are the Champions
