The Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Omar Khan targeted the inside linebacker position as an area of need during the offseason. The team signed Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander before the season started.
Then came the injuries. Both Holcomb and Alexander sustained injuries that saw their seasons end prematurely. So the Steelers made multiple in-season additions to the position including Blake Martinez, Myles Jack, and most recently Jaylon Smith.
One man has shouldered the brunt of the responsibility of getting the myriad assortment of inside linebackers up to speed as needed, former fourth-overall pick Aaron Curry. DT Cam Heyward addressed the media Thursday and talked about the job Curry is doing according to video shared by the Steelers’ social media team.
“It’s a testament to Aaron Curry,” Heyward said. “Having a guy like AC, he communicates well in meetings, outside of meetings and it allows the group to just keep bouncing back. When you have that type of turnover, it’s not easy. But AC’s doing a great job leading that group.”
Curry was the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks after a stellar college career at Wake Forest University. He played in 51 games and accumulated 331 total tackles, 44.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, and six interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns.
However, Curry’s NFL career lasted the same number of years he played at Wake Forest. He played two full seasons plus five more with the Seahawks before being traded to the Oakland Raiders. He appeared in two more games during his fourth season before being released. He signed with the New York Giants during the 2013 offseason but was released before the regular season, and his NFL playing career was over.
However, Curry found his way to coaching, first at the college level. Then he jumped to the NFL level in 2019 with the same team that drafted him, the Seahawks. He started as a defensive assistant, then added linebackers coach to that title after a season. Then two years later, he became the assistant defensive line coach and defensive ends coach.
Curry joined the Steelers during the 2023 offseason, and he’s already left a big impression on defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
“I think we all bring our own personal stories into the room,” Austin said via transcripts provided by the team. “I think that’s part of coaching. You have to have a personal connection with these guys, and they want to know that you’re not just some guy out here yelling and screaming and making them do stuff. What’s your story? Why do you like to do what you do? And so, he brings that with him. He brings great energy. He’s grown each week as a coach, learning different things and being able to do different things and learn in his group. He’s done a really good job for us. I really enjoy being around him.”
Curry brings a different perspective than a lot of coaches. How often have you heard of a former top-five pick who played fewer games in the NFL than during his college career becoming an NFL position coach? Curry has done that, and it appears that he’s making a big impact on the inside linebacker room in a short period of time.
The fact that Curry has done that despite the unexpected injury turnover is impressive. Heyward even called it “musical chairs.” Perhaps it’s his unique perspective having played and essentially failed in the league before climbing up the coaching ladder starting at UNC-Charlotte (the same school that OLB Alex Highsmith graduated from).
Regardless of the reasons, Curry is impressing and succeeding despite the trying circumstances.
