Grady Brown is a defensive backs coach. He’s not a miracle worker. Those who want to tackle can be taught. Those who don’t. There’s nothing anyone can do to fix it.
That’s Brown’s view of defensive back play in the NFL. While it’s a position dominated by speed, coverage ability, and turnovers, tackling is as essential as anything. And you either want to do it, or you don’t.
In an interview airing during this week’s Mike Tomlin Show, Brown spoke about his journey to the NFL and his philosophy as a secondary coach. He also detailed what he looks for in a defensive back and how tackling can be improved. But it can’t be taught.
“For me, it starts with tackling,” Brown said in the interview. “There are some things that I know that I can teach, and there are some things that I just cannot teach. I can make you better at it and I can enhance your ability to be sufficient at it. But if you’re not willing to tackle, you’re just not willing to tackle.”
It comes back to physicality. That’s an innate trait. You either have it or you don’t. There have been successful corners that shied away from contact. Asante Samuel is one example. Deion Sanders was never known as the most willing downhill guy. But Pittsburgh’s bar has always been high. From Mel Blount to Carnell Lake to Ike Taylor, the Steelers have always had high-end cover corners who could also support the run.
Rookie corner Joey Porter Jr. is a quality and recent example. While far from the most physical corner the team has ever had, there is at least a degree of “want-to” as a tackler. Porter will never be great at it, but he’s improved his tackling since the summer, missing too many tackles early in the year to now being able to get his guy on the ground, even if it doesn’t always look pretty.
Brown outlined the next two more important traits that fall into the “athleticism” bucket.
“You want a guy with quickness, then speed because it’s about COD. It’s about changing directions…a lot of times, if I’m in press, I have a box that I have to defend. I have a triangle that I have to defend that takes a certain level of quickness. I would go tackling, I would go quickness, then I would go speed. Then, outside of that, I’ll teach you everything else. If those things are in place, I believe I have the skillset and the experience to teach you everything else that you need to know.”
Brown was hired after a long college journey. With a connection to DC Teryl Austin, Brown was interviewed and hired as the team’s secondary coach to replace Austin, promoted to coordinator, and replaced the retired Keith Butler. In his third year with the team, Brown has made a name for himself. So much so that he served as DC for the National Team at the 2023 Senior Bowl, typically positions given out to younger coaches earning notice from around the league.
While Pittsburgh’s secondary has been turbulent this year, under Brown and Austin, the Steelers have consistently been one of the league’s most takeaway-heavy secondaries. Numbers are down this year, but Porter has emerged from a “toolsy” rookie to a legitimate number-one corner shadowing the opposing top receiver on a weekly basis. Brown’s development has certainly played a role in that. Pay close attention to the sidelines during any game, and Brown is as close to standing on the field as anyone, even more than Mike Tomlin, often calling out something to Porter.
It wouldn’t be a shock if Brown received defensive coordinator interviews during next month’s hiring cycle, and losing him would be painful for the organization. Though it would also represent a true branch of Mike Tomlin’s coaching tree. Usually a staff of veterans, Tomlin hasn’t made many young hires in people like Brown. But he might be among his best.
