Pittsburgh Steelers assistant defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander will coach the West Team linebackers at the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl, it was announced today on the Shrine Bowl website.
Alexander just completed his second season with the Steelers, and in both seasons, the Steelers have had some standout performances from their defensive backs. This season, rookie Joey Porter Jr. emerged as the team’s top cornerback, and they once again got steady play from S Minkah Fitzpatrick when he was healthy. In 2022, Fitzpatrick led the league with six interceptions while the Steelers led the NFL in interceptions as a team.
For Alexander, he’ll now get experience coaching a different position as he moves up to coach linebackers. It will give him more experience and help him learn from other coaches around the league. The head coach for the West Team this season is New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka while Carolina Panthers linebackers outside coach Tem Lukabu will serve as the defensive coordinator.
Alexander is the only Steelers coach coaching in the Shrine Bowl, but assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams will help coach the National Team offensive line at the Senior Bowl. Coaching in these games is not only a good way for the Steelers’ coaching staff to get more knowledge and insight on potential draft picks for the team. It also helps them sharpen their coaching skills working in a different environment with other coaches from around the league.
Prior to joining the Steelers ahead of the 2022 season, Alexander played in the NFL and coached with the Miami Dolphins. He also had various stops in the college ranks, coaching at Arkansas State, Washington, Indiana State, Montana State and California. He served as California’s defensive backs coach from 2017-19 before getting hired by the Dolphins as their defensive backs coach under Brian Flores.
Pittsburgh should be in the market for a linebacker in the draft, and some names on the West Team that Alexander will be coaching include Ohio State’s Steele Chambers and Penn State’s Curtis Jacobs. The Steelers and Alexander will get a close look at that talent with Shrine Bowl practices kicking off later this week.
