The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely announce who their new defensive coordinator will be early next week, and that person is expected to be defensive backs coach Teryl Austin.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday, the Steelers are expected to finalize a deal with Austin on Sunday or Monday to make him their new defensive coordinator.
Austin reportedly recently interviewed to for the open defensive coordinator position with the New York Giants. In addition to already interviewing Austin for their open open defensive coordinator position, the Steelers also reportedly interviewed outsiders Patrick Graham, Joe Witt Jr. and Kris Richard for the job. Since then, however, Graham has been hired to be the new defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Since Keith Butler retired following the Steelers’ playoff loss, it’s been speculated that Austin would likely be the one chosen to replace him.
Austin joined the Steelers in 2019 as the team’s senior defensive assistant/secondary coach. He was previously a defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions (2014–2017) and Cincinnati Bengals (2018). A Pittsburgh product, Austin started his coaching career in 1991 as a Penn State graduate assistant. His first NFL coaching job was with the Seattle Seahawks (2003–2006) where he was a defensive backs coach.
