The Jacksonville Jaguars are cleaning house on defense, firing their entire defensive coaching staff, including their defensive coordinator. And in the midst of the change, former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend finds himself as a coaching free agent.
Townsend, 48, was with the Jaguars since 2022 as their passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Prior to Jacksonville, he spent time with four other NFL teams and had one stop in college.
Townsend started his coaching career with the Arizona Cardinals (2011-2012 as their assistant defensive backs coach. From there, he went to Mississippi State (2013-2015) as their cornerbacks coach. He then bounced around the NFL with stop in Tennessee (2016-2017), New York - with the Giants - (2018) and Chicago (2019-2021), all as a cornerback or defensive backs/assistant defensive backs coach.
As a player, Townsend played with the Steelers from 1998-2009, winning two Super Bowls as their cornerback. His career included 21 interceptions and three touchdowns.
He finished his career in Indianapolis, playing one season with the Colts.
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