While the Pittsburgh Steelers are beginning their search for a new offensive coordinator, it doesn’t sound as though they’ll need to do the same for the other side of the ball. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers are expected to retain defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
What’s also noteworthy is that he says Austin was on a two-year contract and that contract has now run out. It is not uncommon for the organization to sign coordinators to three-year deals, but there is no one universal model.
In other words, that means there will be a new deal coming for Austin if he is to remain on board. The Steelers almost never fire a coach. They typically allow them to work through their contracts and then opt not to renew them. The in-season firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada was basically unprecedented in team history.
Austin joined head coach Mike Tomlin’s coaching staff in 2019. He wore the Senior Defensive Assistant/Secondary title through his first three seasons. In 2022, he was promoted to defensive coordinator after Keith Butler retired.
The Steelers finished 10th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed in his first season in 2022. Much of which came without T.J. Watt. They led the NFL in interceptions, but were 14th overall in takeaways. Last year, they ranked sixth in points allowed and eighth in takeaways, but 21st in yards allowed—more bending, less breaking.
The conversation about Austin being retained is notable for multiple reasons. For one thing, it was already speculated that his contract was up. With Dulac confirming that, it points to a logical time at which the Steelers typically move on from coaches.
More than that, Tomlin declined to make any kind of commitment to his defensive staff during his end-of-season press conference. “I’m not gonna speculate about staffing at this juncture”, he said. “I just acknowledge that things change this time of year, it’s just a component of our business at this level and I’m sensitive and respective to it”.
Assuming that Austin is retained after all, however, that doesn’t mean the rest of the staff will be retained. Tomlin did say that there will be changes. But we could see more on the offensive side of the ball, especially with a new coordinator.
The Steelers already have had some changes. Grady Brown is a young defensive backs coach, as is Aaron Curry at inside linebacker. Denzel Martin was promoted only recently to outside linebackers coach. This is a pretty up-and-coming staff overall, short of Karl Dunbar for the defensive line.
Not everybody will welcome this news with open arms. Many were hoping to see the Steelers turn over the coaching staff as much as the roster. But I don’t think anybody should be surprised if indeed they do sign Austin to a new deal and he continues to coach the defense.
