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The Arizona Cardinals are adding a veteran mind to their defensive coaching staff.
The Arizona Cardinals are bringing in a veteran coach to fix their bottom-10 defense.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Friday that new Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur is hiring former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to be a defensive assistant.
Austin, 61, was with the Steelers from 2019-25, serving as defensive coordinator from 2022-25. He previously held the same role with the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions.
The Cardinals’ defense struggled last season under Nick Rallis, ranking 27th in the NFL and allowing 357.7 yards per game.
Austin Had Distinguished Run with Steelers
The Steelers were only a tad better defensively than the Cardinals last season, surrendering an average of 356.9 yards per game to rank 26th. But in the three previous seasons, Pittsburgh’s defense ranked top-10 in scoring under Austin.
Austin had been with Pittsburgh since 2019. He joined the team as a senior defensive assistant and secondary coach before being elevated to defensive coordinator in 2022.
He was not retained by new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who took over in January.
This will be Austin’s second stint with the Cardinals. He was the team’s defensive backs coach from 2007-09, including in Super Bowl XLIII when Arizona lost to Pittsburgh, 27-23.
Austin then spent the 2010 season as defensive coordinator for the University of Florida before returning to the NFL as the Baltimore Ravens’ secondary coach from 2011-13. He also was defensive coordinator for the Lions (2014-17) and Bengals (2018) prior to landing with the Steelers.
Cardinals’ Defense Ranked Among NFL’s Worst
Austin will have his hands full, trying to resurrect a defense that was largely responsible for the team’s 3-14 finish. The Cardinals allowed an average of 28.7 points per game, which ranked 29th in the NFL. Only the Bengals (28.9), New York Jets (29.6) and Dallas Cowboys (30.1) were worse.
The Cardinals gave up 30-plus points seven times, including in four of the last five games. They finished the season on a nine-game losing streak.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon was fired following a 15-36 record over three seasons. Former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator LaFleur was tabbed his replacement.
Austin is the second veteran defensive coach added this offseason by Arizona, joining defensive line coach Pete Kwiatowski.