With Mike Tomlin’s departure, there was plenty of change across the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff. This included the departure of Denzel Martin and the addition of C.J. Ah You, Pittsburgh’s new outside linebackers coach. While we’re only through one day of OTAs, Alex Highsmith is happy with the work he’s been able to put in with his new position coach.
“I like him a lot. You know, getting to know C.J. over this past month and a half or so, it’s been really cool. He’s very detailed in what he does, and so he knows the game very well. We’ve been putting in some really good work with him, so I’m just excited to get things going, as we’re starting to transition to real football,” Highsmith said Monday via Steelers.com. “He’s been really good for us.”
The Steelers hope a new mind leading that group will lead to more success from the position. It has plenty of talent, with Highsmith, T.J. Watt, and Nick Herbig headlining the group. Jack Sawyer also had some nice moments as a rookie in 2025. But that collection of players as a whole didn’t translate to quite as much production as the Steelers hoped. That feeling could be applied to the entire defense.
Highsmith was arguably the best at the position, with 9.5 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss. However, Highsmith missed four games, so he’ll hope to stay a little healthier in 2026. Nick Herbig was excellent with his chances, but didn’t get a ton of them behind Highsmith and Watt. And the latter had a disappointing season, with just seven sacks in 14 games. If Ah You can get more out of the unit this season, it’ll massively help the whole defense.
It will be an interesting transition for Ah You, who’s coming to the NFL from the collegiate level. His most recent coaching experience was at Texas Tech, where he had the same role for the last four seasons and coached David Bailey and Tyree Wilson. He also coached at Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Southern California. He’s certainly got a new level of talent to work with this year.
It’s only been one day of OTAs, and the Steelers have plenty more offseason workouts ahead of them. But according to Highsmith, it seems as if the outside linebackers are starting on the right foot with Ah You.
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