The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of turnover from the 2024 season. The roster is going to look very different, especially on the offensive side of the ball in 2025, as will some areas of the coaching staff. The biggest changes coaching-wise came on the defensive side, as Gerald Alexander is back for his second stint as the team's defensive backs coach. Meanwhile, after Aaron Curry left, Pittsburgh hired Scott McCurley as the team's inside linebackers coach.
Those coaching changes should make an impact, but more changes could still come for Head Coach Mike Tomlin . Organized Team Activities (OTAs) began on Tuesday, and there was a new coach in the building. Derrick Mason was there, who is the assistant defensive backs coach at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He will be with the Steelers throughout OTAs, likely under a coaching fellowship. He should not be confused with the former All-Pro wide receiver that played for the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, or Houston Texans.
His bio still suggests that he is coaching at Johns Hopkins, and the coaching roster for Pittsburgh has not been updated with his information suggesting a new hire. It is not out of the ordinary for an NFL franchise to bring in younger college coaches to get some exposure in the league. As mentioned, this is likely a specific goal of the league under the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. This is an opportunity for former NFL players, as well as coaches at any of the three levels of football.
This is an interesting initiative that the NFL and its 32 organizations take each and every year. During OTAs and training camp, these coaches, who eventually want to be a full-time coach at the NFL level, get the chance to learn from the best in the game, while also being given the opportunity to work with professional players. This is a great way to advance the game, while giving coaches at every level a shot to make it to the big league.
Mason just became a coach at the college level ahead of the 2023 season, and up until that point, he had only coached at the high school level. He was never even a head coach in high school, as he served as a defensive assistant in multiple places and was a defensive coordinator once. This goes to show that a coach doesn't need to be the head coach to find a way to move up in the ranks, and now he has gotten his first piece of exposure to the NFL.
Steelers Will Have A Ton Of Knowledge To Give To Derrick Mason
There might not be a better place in the league to take part of a coaching fellowship. The obvious influence from Tomlin and the lessons that could be learned from the head coach who has spent 18 seasons running a team at the NFL level are insurmountable. Especially when it is taken into consideration that he has coached his way to 18 consecutive non-losing seasons.
Aside from Tomlin, Mason will be able to learn from Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander as well as Assistant Secondary Coach Anthony Midget. Midget has a ton of experience, and quite frankly, he is likely over-qualified to still be an assistant coach at this stage of his career. He has been coaching in the NFL since 2014. Alexander has been coaching in the NFL since 2020, and he has coached every position in the secondary. There will be plenty of lessons to be learned for Mason while learning from the coaches in Pittsburgh, and he will surely take advantage of them.
More must-reads: