Former Steelers LB Becomes Newest NFL Coach

Spence had most recently served as Western Michigan's EDGEs coach during the 2025 campaign.

Spence's Steelers Tenure

Spence, following a standout collegiate career in his hometown at the University of Miami, was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh with the No. 86 overall pick.

A significant knee injury he suffered during the preseason wiped out his entire rookie year, however, and he later sustained a finger injury in 2013 that kept him out of game action once again.

Spence made his regular season debut in 2014 and went on to appear 31 contests through the 2015 campaign for Pittsburgh, posting 90 total tackles and two sacks over that stretch.

He spent the 2016 season with the Tennessee Titans and signed with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of the 2017 campaign. Spence was let go at final roster cuts before re-signing with the team two weeks later, but he played in just three games for them before getting cut that October.

From there, Spence headed back to Pittsburgh two months later in December 2017 and suited up in four games to close out the regular season, logging 19 tackles with a sack.

Other Former Steelers Coaching in NFL

The only former Steelers player who is currently holding a head coaching job in the NFL is the New England Patriots' Mike Vrabel, who is fresh off a loss in Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks in his first year with the organization.

Vrabel, who was once a linebackers coach much like Spence and was also the Tennessee Titans' head coach from 2018 to 2023, was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh and played four seasons for the team.

Former Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, who was with the team from 2002 to 2005 and again in 2010, was a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl-winning staff in 2020 as an offensive assistant. He later found success as the Detroit Lions' wide receivers coach from 2021 to 2024 before following Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears ahead of the 2025 campaign, where he is an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.

Former Pittsburgh running back Duce Staley, who spent the final three years of his playing career with the team from 2004 to 2006, has coached in the NFL since 2011. He is set to return to the Cleveland Browns as their running backs coach in 2026 under new head coach Todd Monken after having held that role with the franchise dating back to the 2024 season.

Former quarterback Alex Van Pelt, an eighth-round pick by the Steelers out of the University of Pittsburgh in the 1993 draft, served as both a running backs (2012 - 2013) and quarterbacks coach (2014 - 2017) on Mike McCarthy's Green Bay Packers staff. Van Pelt has also been the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2020 - 2023) and New England Patriots (2024) and was hired by the Atlanta Falcons to be their new quarterbacks coach this offseason.

Doug Marrone, who was only briefly a member of the Steelers during the 1991 offseason as an offensive lineman, was previously the head coach of the Buffalo Bills (2013 - 2014) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2017 - 2020). He is currently a member of Vrabel's staff in New England as the team's offensive line coach.

Former linebacker Larry Foote, who played parts of 11 seasons in Pittsburgh and won two Super Bowls with the organization across two separate stints (2002 - 2008, 2010 - 2013), is currently the run game coordinator and outside linebackers coach for the Buccaneers. He was on the team's staff alongside Randle El in 2020 when they won Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Former defensive lineman Karl Dunbar was selected by the Steelers in the eighth round of the 1990 NFL Draft and had served as the organization's defensive line coach from 2018 to 2015 before departing once Mike Tomlin stepped down. He was subsequently hired to fill that same role on the New York Jets' coaching staff this offseason.