The last Pittsburgh Steelers coach on Mike Tomlin’s staff without a job has found a new home. Former Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is joining the Arizona Cardinals as a senior assistant, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Former Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is joining the Arizona Cardinals staff as a senior assistant, per source.
More experience for new head coach Mike LaFleur. pic.twitter.com/TtdDK7Gx4w
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 6, 2026
Austin had been the Steelers’ defensive coordinator since the 2022 season. Prior to that, he spent 2019-2021 as a secondary coach and senior defensive assistant with Pittsburgh. He’s also had stints as a defensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.
It’ll be Austin’s second stint in Arizona, as he served as the Cardinals’ defensive backs coach from 2007-2009 and was a member of their coaching staff when the Steelers beat them in Super Bowl XLIII.
He also has experience working as the secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2010-2013 and the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive backs coach from 2003-2006.
Pittsburgh’s defense wasn’t the same dominating unit it had been during the 2025 campaign, and the group also faded down the stretch in 2024. There were questions about Austin’s job security following the 2024 season, but he stayed in his same role, and the Steelers’ defense struggled to be a consistent enough unit. While things improved toward the end of the season, there were too many mishaps and Austin got a lot of flack from Steelers fans for the underperformance of the defense.
He interviewed for the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator job this offseason but didn’t get it, as the role ultimately went to Minnesota Vikings’ defensive backs coach Daronte Jones. Now, Austin will work on a Cardinals staff led by first-time head coach Mike LaFleur. LaFleur retained Nick Rallis to be Arizona’s defensive coordinator, and Austin will likely work with Rallis to help run an Arizona defense that ranked 27th in average yards allowed, one spot lower than Pittsburgh’s 26th-place ranking.
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