Pittsburgh Steelers staffers have been taking interviews as the coaching carousel cycles for teams that have started their offseasons early.
Arthur Smith had interviews with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets and now Grady Brown is a candidate in Atlanta.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Falcons interviewed Pittsburgh’s secondary coach for their vacant defensive coordinator position on Friday.
The #Falcons are interviewing #Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown for their defensive coordinator job today, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 17, 2025
It’s puzzling why Atlanta would be interested in Brown — other than maybe to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
Some would argue that Pittsburgh’s secondary was the weak link of the struggling unit.
Opposing quarterbacks seemed to have a field day against them, racking up yards like they were playing Madden in rookie mode. The secondary struggled with coverage breakdowns, missed assignments, and a lack of consistency. Big plays were the Achilles’ heel—too many wide receivers ran free in open space.
Poor tackling didn’t help either; there were too many moments where short completions turned into huge gains. The lack of cohesion among the group was glaring, and it’s clear the Steelers need to address these issues in the offseason.
