Steelers Add Special Teams Assistant Coach

Swinton brings almost two decades of coaching experience and 14 years worth of instructing special teams.

He joins new special teams coordinator Danny Crossman under McCarthy, who replaced former Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith, working for 13 years under former head coach MIke Tomlin.

This marks the first time the Steelers have had two special teams coaches since 2011, when Al Everest was the special teams coordinator and Amos Jones back in 2011.

Derius Swinton II Coaching Background

Swinton spent the past three seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders in the same role, but also worked as the interim special teams coordinator in 2025, after the franchise fired Tom McMahon.

He did great work with Raiders punter AJ Cole, who led the NFL with an average punt of 50.8 yards in 2024. Cole also led the NFL with 75 punts, 3,783 punt yards and a punt of 83 yards in 2023, earning his third straight Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro honor.

Swinton helped kicker David Carlson have solid seasons in Las Vegas and even hit a career-high 60-yard field goal this past season.

He was on the same staff as Patrick Graham, now the Steelers' defensive coordinator, who was in the same role in Las Vegas the past four seasons.

Swinton spent one season as the Los Angeles Charger special teams coordinator in 2021, before he was fired.

He improve their special teams unit to the fourth best kickoff return team at 25.0 yards per return and the ninth best field goal percentage 88.9%, thanks to the mid-season acquisitions of both kicker Dustin Hopkins and Andre Roberts.

His first special teams coordinator job came with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, where they improved from 25th in fewest average return yards allowed to fifth.

Swinton also served as assistant special teams coach with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020, the Chicago Bears in 2015 and 2017, the Denver Broncos for two seasons, 2013-14, while also working as a special teams quality control coach with the St. Louis Rams, 2009-11, and the Kansas City Chiefs, 2012.

He had a Bill Walsh NFL diversity coaching fellowship with the Cardinals in 2019 and worked two other coaching jobs as an offensive assistant with the Detroit Lions in 2018 and defensive graduate assistant in the college ranks with Tennessee in 2007 and 2008, which was his first coaching position.