The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense wilted down the stretch amidst the team’s five-game losing streak. At one point, the defense looked like one of the best in football, and they played like it through the first half of the season, but issues with communication became apparent down the stretch, and the defense forced just five turnovers in their final five games. That’s led to speculation about the future of defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. While now it seems likely that Austin will remain as Pittsburgh’s DC, Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the team should add to their staff with a senior defensive assistant.
“Even if [Teryl Austin] does stay in his role, and Mike Tomlin and the Steelers still believe in him as the head of that unit, as the defensive coordinator, maybe you need to do what you did a couple years ago and bring in a senior defensive assistant who can put a fresh eye on things or have a fresh message to a bunch of guys who are pretty talented, but as they’ve said themselves don’t always seem to be on the same accord,” Batko said on The North Shore Drive podcast via Post-Gazette Sports on YouTube.
Austin had served as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals before the Steelers brought him in as a senior defensive assistant and secondary coach under Keith Butler, a role he served from 2019-2021 before becoming defensive coordinator in 2022. With the communication issues not being a one-off problem and the defense underperforming late, having a new set of eyes on the group inside the building isn’t the worst idea.
Outside of Austin, head coach Mike Tomlin also has a big hand in the defense, as well as the position coaches, who all are seemingly safe. However, defensive backs coach Grady Brown interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator opening. But having a veteran coach come in and assess the defense and maybe figure out something that a bunch of coaches who have been with the organization for a few years aren’t seeing to get the group to play to their potential from Week 1 until the end of the season would be a smart move.
The Steelers traditionally have one of the smallest coaching staffs in football. Still, as they did with Austin and Brian Flores, they’ve shown a penchant for adding veteran coaches when they become available, especially on defense. It’s a team that, for better or worse, is built on their highest-paid defense, and finding ways to fix what went wrong down the stretch will be one of the most important goals this offseason. Adding a new voice and a new set of eyes in conjunction with Austin if the team isn’t going to make a change sounds like one of the better courses of action.
