Entering his 10th season in the NFL, one that’s seen him record three 10+ sack seasons and play in 111 career games, outside linebacker Markus Golden had to wait a bit longer than he expected on the free agent market.
But good things happen to those who wait, and Golden waited until the right time to eventually sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal last week, stepping in as the much-needed veteran OLB3 presence behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
In the process of landing in a good situation defensively with a clearcut role, Golden is also reuniting with some familiar faces, none more familiar than Steelers outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin.
Martin and Golden were roommates and teammates at the University of Missouri. For Golden, he’s excited to reunite with a person that he grew up with in Martin, telling reporters Tuesday from inside the locker room at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex that he’s excited to work with him moving forward.
“I know a couple people on the team and…Denzel Martin’s the outside linebacker coach. We grew up together,” Golden said to reporters, according to video via the Tribune-Review‘s Chris Adamski on Twitter. “I could say cuz me and him was college roommates. So it felt good to be able to reunite with him.”
Golden, who played at Missouri from 2012-2014, was teammates with Martin, who became the Steelers’ outside linebackers coach following a promotion in March. While Golden was a star at Mizzou and later became a second-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2014 NFL Draft, Martin was a walk-on who largely chose to attend Missouri due to the chance to learn under the Tigers’ coaching staff with hopes of eventually becoming a coach.
At Missouri, while living off campus as roommates in an apartment, Golden and Martin grew close. Golden once credited Martin for helping him eventually sack Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel during an SEC game back in the early 2010s, telling the Columbia Tribune‘s David Morrison in 2014 that he knew Martin was going to be a coach one day due to his eye for the game.
“I was able to sack Johnny Manziel because of him. He told me, ‘Hey MG, watch his foot. If his foot’s back real far, he’s stepping back,’ ” Golden said in the Morrison story. “He’ll be a great coach someday. I hope he ends up being the head coach when Coach [Gary] Pinkel’s done here years from now.”
Now, nearly a decade later, Martin is that coach and will oversee Golden’s transition to Pittsburgh as the third outside linebacker in a three-headed monster at the position with Watt and Highsmith, not to mention rookie fourth-round draft pick Nick Herbig out of Wisconsin, who like Golden, has short arms and had size concerns coming out of college.
The Steelers are hoping that by reuniting Golden with his old college teammate and friend in Martin, whom he clearly has a lot of respect for dating back to his college days, will help him have a season like he did two years ago, when he registered 11 sacks for the Arizona Cardinals. Golden certainly seems ecstatic about the reunion.
