Steelers' Mike Tomlin Not Devoted To Keeping The Same Defensive Staff In 2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has a lot of star power, and it is bolstered by one of the best defensive players in the NFL in TJ Watt. He is accompanied by other standouts in Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alex Highsmith, and Cam Heyward, along with promising rookies Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton. Despite all of that production on the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers still ranked in the back half of the league in yards given up. This is partially why Head Coach Mike Tomlin refused to commit to keep the same defensive coaching staff during his end of year press conference.

Steelers' Mike Tomlin Refuses To Commit To Keeping Defensive Staff

Teryl Austin took over as the Steelers defensive coordinator prior to the 2022 NFL season, and served as the team's secondary coach and a defensive assistant from 2019 through 2021. It is rumored that Austin's contract as the team's defensive coordinator is up after the 2023 season, although the Steelers do not release contract details for their assistant coaches. Since Austin's contract has expired, the team can find someone else to fill the defensive coordinator position, or decide to bring Austin back. Tomlin spoke about possible changes being made to the defensive staff during his press conference on Thursday.

"You know, I'm not going to speculate about staffing at this juncture. I just acknowledge man that things change this time of year. It's just a component of our business at this level, so obviously I'm sensitive and respective of it."

Tomlin is obviously focused on finding the team's next offensive coordinator, but now that Austin's contract is up, an important decision needs to be made on whether or not to bring him back. The Steelers defense has been hovering around the middle of the league since Austin has been hired. They ranked 21st in yards given up in 2023 and 13th in yards given up in 2022. They were 10th in points given up in 2022 as well. 

Despite Austin's future being in question, his shortcomings as the Steelers defensive coordinator are somewhat excusable. In his two seasons in the role, the defense has suffered massive injuries that certainly have hindered the unit's performance. In 2022, Watt missed a large portion of the season after being injured in the first game of the season and never again reached full health that year. In 2023, both Heyward and Fitzpatrick missed chunks of the season and the Steelers lost two of their top three inside linebackers to season-ending injuries. The Steelers were pulling from their practice squad at the end of the year to fill holes in the defense. 

Aside from major injuries on the defensive side of the ball, the struggling Steelers offense has constantly put the defense in bad situations over the last two years. In 2023, the Steelers offense was 23rd in the NFL in time of possession, which did not allow their defense to get much rest between possessions. To make things worse, the offense was also 27th in the league in yards gained per drive, so the Steelers were constantly losing the field position battle and the defense was often put at a disadvantage when it came to where their opponents started their drives. 

Austin has been a middle of the road defensive coordinator since taking over for the Steelers, and he certainly has had some obstacles to overcome when it comes to injuries and trying to compliment a struggling offense. Some insiders have reported that Austin should be welcomed back to the staff with open arms, but whether or not he is offered a new contract in Pittsburgh is still up in the air. It seems Tomlin will look to evaluate all possible options when it comes to filling out his defensive staff for the 2024 season.

What do you think the Steelers should do at the defensive coordinator position? Let us know in the comments below!

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