Steelers Insider Fires Back At Juan Thornhill In Defense Of Teryl Austin

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had perhaps their most interesting offseason in over a decade. There has been a change in the coaching staff from top to bottom, with Mike McCarthy now the new leader of the franchise following Mike Tomlin stepping down. There have also been some very inspiring free agent and trade acquisitions, giving the franchise plenty of new faces on the current roster. While the Steelers focus on the upcoming season, former players have come out and spoken up against the franchise and some past coaches. Some were players who were failed projects and spent a very short time with the Black and Gold. 

The most recent bash of the Steelers came from safety Juan Thornhill via his TikTok account, where he admitted his disapproval of playing under former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Thornhill was a low-risk signing for the Steelers and still fell short of expectations, being cut after the team's Week 10 loss to the Green Bay Packers. He then signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, where he appeared in just one game. Thornhill remains unsigned, with training camp right around the corner for most NFL teams. 

Thornhill may be out of the league soon, but his complaints were valid in the eyes of many fans. He had the most expensive defense in the NFL and could never get them to an elite status. He has now taken a senior defensive assistant role with the Arizona Cardinals after spending the past seven seasons (2019-25) with the Steelers, including the last four as defensive coordinator (2022-25). 

With Thornhill recently bashing Austin, it caught the attention of one Steelers insider who fired back at the former Super Bowl champion. Mark Kaboly recently appeared on an episode of Steelers Collective, where the group talked about potential training camp battles. One of the battles is the free safety position, with injuries and uncertainties. While discussing it, the collective reminisced about last season's room, with Thornhill calling the defense historic before being cut mid-season. After his underwhelming stint in the Steel City, Kaboly didn't hold back. 

"Yeah, I'm sure Teryl Austin didn't like you playing for him," Kaboly stated. 

Austin's run in Pittsburgh wasn't all bad. Since he joined the staff in 2019, they've been near the top of the league in takeaways. He helped bring a ball-hawking mentality to a secondary that was depleted when he arrived. Now he will re-enter that assistant style role in Arizona, giving him a fresh start as he had in Pittsburgh initially.

Now the Steelers will have Patrick Graham as the defensive coordinator, giving them arguably a much-needed upgrade. Graham hasn't had much success in the NFL, but he hasn't been gifted with the talent Austin has had. Even with a lack of talent, his defenses with the Las Vegas Raiders never bottomed out and even showed the ability to limit explosive plays during his tenure with the team. 

Steelers' Graham Has Lots Of Pressure In 2026

The Steelers rank once again at the top of the NFL in money spent on defense. They will boast the NFL's most expensive defense, which history has shown doesn't necessarily mean they will be the best or close to it. Graham needs to get more out of the defense than Tomlin and Austin were able to. The unit has flaws, but it's a solid group nonetheless and should have no excuses not to be a top-10 defense in the NFL. 

His stars are aging, with TJ Watt nearing the end of his prime and Cam Heyward holding off Father Time as much as he can. Graham will have his work cut out for him this season, but should be able to get significant improvement out of all aspects of the defense. 

What do you think of Kaboly's comments regarding Thornhill and Austin? Be sure to continue to follow us for more Steelers news!

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