The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have added Derrick Mason to their coaching staff with voluntary OTAs beginning today, per a post by Mason on X. Mason is an assistant DBs coach for Johns Hopkins entering his third season with the program.
He didn’t confirm in his tweet, but this could be a part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship program. The program has been active for over 30 years to help coaches get exposure to the NFL through training camps and offseason workout programs. The listed objectives on the NFL operations page for the program are to observe, participate, and gain experience with the end goal of eventually gaining a full-time coaching position in the NFL.
With voluntary OTAs beginning today, Mason’s time with the team could span anywhere from the duration of OTAs and minicamp to all the way through the preseason at the end of August. His bio on Johns Hopkins shows that he is employed by the team and he isn’t listed on the Steelers’ team website, which further suggests this is a fellowship.
Candidates have to apply to be a part of the program, and they have to either be a former NFL player or have coaching experience in high school, college or an alternate league like the CFL or UFL. In Mason’s case, he has two years of college coaching experience and an extensive history in coaching high school football dating back to 2015 with Glen Burnie, North County High School, Chesapeake High School and Meade High School. He also served as an assistant baseball coach while at Meade HS.
According to his bio, his high school coaching roles included game planning, on-field coaching and running strength and conditioning programs.
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays had a 12-1 record on their way to a Centennial Conference Championship quarterfinals appearance in 2024. They allowed just 196.8 passing yards per game and a very low 47.2 completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks, a program best since 2003.
When applicants apply for the program, they list the top five NFL teams they are interested in working with. I would imagine Mike Tomlin, a Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship graduate, attracts a lot of applicants as the longest-tenured active head coach in North American pro sports.
“The fellowship gave me my first exposure to coaching in the NFL, and it solidified my dedication to wanting to become a coach in the National Football League,” said Tomlin via the NFL operations page.
To learn more about Mason and his journey through coaching, here is an interview with Takeover Sports on YouTube.
The Steelers always take advantage of this program, adding anywhere from three to five coaches for their offseason programs and training camps. If this hire is a part of the fellowship program, we can likely expect more names to surface in the coming weeks and months leading up to training camp.
