Tag: teryl austin

Steelers’ DC isn’t keen on treating LB Payton Wilson like a rookie

Steelers’ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke highly of Payton Wilson’s maturity and what it means for the team.

It is clear that not every rookie needs time to adjust to the NFL level of speed.  Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Payton Wilson has been turning heads through seven weeks of the 2024 season with his elite play in both the pass and run defense.  His instincts have further supported the argument that Wilson deserves more play time on defense, as he has been used sparingly thus far.

Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin seems to agree that the rookie linebacker shouldn’t be restrained in any capacity, as his maturity allows for the team to place more trust in his play.

The team would be wise to continue to treat him as a more established player in the league, even though he might have far less experience than other linebackers on the roster.  The admiration that Wilson’s teammates and coaches have for him is backed up by his competitive spirit on and off the field.

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Steelers DC Teryl Austin with perfect 4-word explanation for last week’s loss

Every that could go wrong did for the Steelers defense last week.

Going into last week’s game with the Indianapolis Colts the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was the top in the NFL. They were supposed to be the unit that continued to carry this team as the offense continued to improve.

This was not the case. The defense came out flat and let the Colts get up 17-0 in the blink of an eye. By the time the Steelers defense got any traction, the offense was too far behind to come back.

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin talked to the media on Thursday and summed it up perfectly when he said it was “one of those days” and talked about starting off behind and not being able to get back on track.

“You’re fighting an uphill battle, especially on the road, and I think that’s what happened,” Austin said.

The Steelers defense was unable to get control of the passing game once veteran Joe Flacco came in for an injured Anthony Richardson. The defense really struggled to adjust to having the 39-year-old pocket passer in the game.

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ESPN struggles ranking Steelers coaching staff

Mike Tomlin is a polarizing figure among NFL head coaches.

There is no more polarizing NFL head coach than the Pittsburgh Steelers own Mike Tomlin. The fanbase is divided right down the middle between whether or not Tomlin is a Hall of Fame coach or if he should be fired immediately. There’s very little middle ground to be had.

This uncertainty and division are why it is so difficult to evaluate any coordinators Tomlin has had over the year. How much of it is Tomlin and how much of it is them? The Steelers’ current offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is supposed to be bringing the Steelers offense into a new age but if it doesn’t happen, some will argue it’s only Tomlin.

ESPN ranked every NFL coaching staff based on its head coach and top coordinators and while they have the Steelers ranked No. 7 in the league, author Ben Solak admits ranking the Steelers was his most difficult task.

Here is a bit of what he said about Tomlin and we couldn’t agree more.

Without question, this is the most difficult team to place. I am positive Tomlin is a good head coach. Nobody in the league squeezes more blood from tougher stones than Tomlin, who has somehow not had a losing season during the worst quarterback carousel I can ever remember: late-career chuck-and-duck Ben Roethlisberger, backups Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges splitting time and resounding first-round bust Kenny Pickett spelled by Mitchell Trubisky. Much Tomlin criticism is just incognito praise. Yes, the Steelers have lost their past five playoff games (bad), but the fact they’ve made it to the playoffs with these preposterously bad offenses is a testament to Tomlin (good).

Tomlin is definitely an enigma. The lack of playoff success keeps him out of that upper tier of head coaches but his regular-season success keeps him well ahead of most of the league.

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Steelers DC Teryl Austin needs to be on the hot seat this season

The Steelers defense has underachieved in recent years despite being the most expensive in the NFL.

During the Pittsburgh Steelers current playoff win drought, fingers have been pointed squarely at head coach Mike Tomlin and former offense coordinator Matt Canada. And rightfully so. But we cannot, in good conscience just ignore the fact that there might not be a coordinator in the league who does less with more like Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

The Steelers boast the most expensive defense in the NFL with the team’s top four cap hits all coming on that side of the football. Edge defender T.J. Watt, defensive tackle Cam Heyward and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick combine for a whopping $74.2 million against a salary cap of just north of $216 million.

Despite all this, the Steelers defense has been just as inconsistent as the offense in recent seasons. The same criticisms of slow starts, inconsistent effort and lapses in concentration and communication have plagued this group.

The Steelers have gone to great lengths this offseason to rebuild the offense while still adding some huge pieces on defense including linebacker Patrick Queen and cornerback Donte Jackson. At some point, if this unit continues to underachieve, Austin will have to be held accountable for those failures.

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Steelers DC says Patrick Queen will wear the green dot this season

Patrick Queen will be responsible for the defensive play calls this season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed linebacker Patrick Queen to a three-year, $41 million contract this offseason to be a difference maker. Early in OTAs it already appears the Steelers might have found the next great Steelers inside linebacker in the same class as guys like Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier.

Another thing Queen brings is leadership. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke at OTA practice on Wednesday and noted that Queen will wear the green dot this season.

“We signed him because he had a great year, but it wasn’t just a one-off,” said Austin. “He’s played well ever since he was at Baltimore. We think he’s a three-down linebacker for us. He’ll go in with the green dot and he’ll be the guy out there on every snap.”

Wearing the green dot means Queen will be the guy in communication with the sidelines and making the defensive play calls. It also means he won’t come off the field much which is great news for the Steelers defense.

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Steelers finalizing 2-year contract with DC Teryl Austin

The Steelers had the No. 6 scoring defense in the NFL last season.

Despite the struggles last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers remain confident in defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. So much so, that according to ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler, the team is finalizing a new two-year contract with Austin to keep him with the team through the 2025 season.

As Fowler pointed out, the Steelers defense was sixth in points allowed, which seems remarkable given the sheer volume of injuries this unit was forced to contend with. Pittsburgh lost two starting inside linebackers, three starting safeties and multiple other players on the defense. Pittsburgh was 21st in the NFL in yards allowed last season.

If the Steelers can lock up Austin, they can focus all their attention on finding their new offensive coordinator. The Steelers fired Matt Canada just after the midway point of the 2023 season and head coach Mike Tomlin said the team plans to look outside the organization for a replacement.

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Report: Steelers retaining DC Teryl Austin

DC Teryl Austin is sticking around.

Changes are underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff, including a new offensive coordinator, but defensive coordinator isn’t among them. According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, Teryl Austin will be retained. His two-year contract expired after the season.

The Steelers ranked sixth in fewest points allowed in 2023 (19.1 per game) but allowed more rushing yards (115.1) and passing yards (227.1) per game than in 2022.

It wasn’t helped by the fact that the defense sustained injuries to several key starters: Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick missed 13 combined games, and Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, a combined 17.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick tears into DC Teryl Austin over final play call

Teryl Austin has been getting a pass for some questionable play calling this season.

The final seconds of the Pittsburgh Steelers thrilling win over the Green Bay Packers was filled with drama. Some of that drama wasn’t on the field. We already talked about the near-brawl that started after safety Damontae Kazee’s game-winning interception. However, even before that, there was a blowup between Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

You can see from the video below that Fitzpatrick was not happy with Austin’s play call on that final play and wasn’t shy about letting him know. You then see head coach Mike Tomlin stroll over and say something to Austin that seemed to bring things back to Earth.

The Steelers defense got two key interceptions of Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love. The defense wasn’t great in the win but found a way to make big plays when the team needed them. Fitzpatrick missed the game with a hamstring injury but it didn’t keep him from helping out his defense with that final play call.

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Steelers name ex-Bengals, Lions DC Teryl Austin as defensive coordinator

Steelers officially name Teryl Austin as their new DC.

As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers named their secondary coach, Teryl Austin, as their new defensive coordinator.

Austin, who joined the Steelers in 2019, is replacing Keith Butler who retired in January. He worked as defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions (2014-2017) and most recently for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018.

 

 

 

 

Former Lions coach Teryl Austin takes over as Steelers defensive coordinator

Former Lions coach Teryl Austin takes over as the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator

Former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is back in charge of an NFL defense once again. The Pittsburgh Steelers are promoting Austin to the role, replacing Keith Butler in running the defense under longtime head coach Mike Tomlin.

Austin had been the team’s secondary coach and senior defensive assistant since the 2019 campaign.

He was a popular figure in his time in Detroit. Austin led the Lions defense from 2014 to 2017 while Jim Caldwell was the head coach. His first unit in Detroit finished third in scoring defense and second in yards allowed. It marked the first time since 1993 the Lions finished in the NFL’s top 10 in either category.

The success faded with the departure of All-Pro DT Ndamukong Suh and falloff in performances from the likes of LB DeAndre Levy and safety James Ihedigbo. His final defense in Detroit ranked 27th. Austin then landed with the Cincinnati Bengals, where his defense allowed the most yards in team history in 2018.

Austin, 56, played collegiately at Pittsburgh and has also been involved in coaching defense with three other NFL teams since 2003.