Every coach has his start. Each one has his influence. A mentor, an inspiration, an example of how to coach the right way.
Pittsburgh’s new coaching staff has the task of getting the Steelers over the hump. Defensively, the unit must reach its potential after falling well short of expectation last year.
Steelers.com writer Teresa Varley has continued her ongoing series getting to know the new coaching staff. It’s been an excellent look into the background and makeup of the coaches who will make a significant impact, even if their work will mostly be conducted behind-the-scenes and outside of public view.
Each interview is worth a read, but here’s a roundup of the main coaches who inspired each to pursue the profession.
Outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You was inspired by three men.
“My position coach when I was a player, Brendan Daly had a big impact on me,” Ah You told Varley. “Rod Marinelli had a huge impact these last couple years, we built a friendship. Pete Jenkins was one of my coaches as well, who’s well known.”
Before coaching, Ah You played. He began his college career at BYU before transferring to Oklahoma. A seventh-round draft pick in 2007, he spent the bulk of his career with the St. Louis Rams through 2007. Daly coached him from 2009 through 2011. In 2010, Ah You had his best season with four sacks across 16 games.
Marinelli is regarded as one of the best defensive line coaches in football and has been coaching since the 1970s. His last job came with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, and he never officially worked alongside Ah You. In a 2025 interview, Ah You referenced seeing Marinelli “every year” for clinics with the two constantly texting and Ah You picking his brain for new ideas.
Secondary coach Jason Simmons offered several familiar Pittsburgh names.
“Dom [Capers] getting me into it, being drafted here with the Steelers by Bill Cowher,” he told Varley. “Mike McCarthy who I was with in different places. My coordinator being Vic Fangio in Houston. Tim Lewis with the Steelers.”
The Steelers drafted Simmons in 1998. He played in Pittsburgh through 2001 and was coached by Lewis. Simmons’ first NFL coaching job came in 2011 with Dom Capers, then the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator with Mike McCarthy as head coach.
Fellow secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. had a list of two.
“My dad 100 percent and another coach by the name of Emmitt Thomas,” Whitt told Varley.
Whitt and Thomas spent 2007 together in Atlanta, where by year’s end, Thomas would replace Bobby Petrino and serve as the Falcons’ interim head coach. Thomas is in the Hall of Fame for his decade-long career with the Kansas City Chiefs, intercepting 58 passes. He began coaching in 1979.
Defensive line coach Domata Peko didn’t mention his coaching inspiration in his segment with Varley, though his 15 years in the NFL gives him plenty of knowledge of what football’s highest level looks like. He spent the 2024 season as a defensive assistant under Mike McCarthy.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham also didn’t cite any direct inspiration in his interview. In our Big Book article, we noted Graham credited Jon Tenuta as an early mentor. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weiss taught him plenty, too.
By year’s end, all that will matter are results. Expectations in Pittsburgh are higher than a lot of other places hiring out a new coaching staff. If the group succeeds, the coaching staff – and their mentors – will deserve some of that credit.
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