The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to hire Danny Crossman as their special teams coordinator, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network . Crossman, 59, has over two decades of NFL experience, most recently with the Miami Dolphins .
Crossman is an El Paso, Texas native but he has ties to Pittsburgh. Crossman was a second-team all-America and all-Big East cornerback at Pitt in the late 1980s. He lettered two seasons (1987 and 1989) as a defensive back and one (1988) as the Panthers ' starting fullback. As a senior, he served as team captain and was named the squad's MVP as he led the Panthers to the 1989 Sun Bowl.
Mike McCarthy was a graduate assistant at Pitt for Crossman's final year with the Panthers in 1989.
McCarthy hired several coaches to his staff last week. He has also kept two coaches from Mike Tomlin's staff in quarterbacks coach Tom Arth and linebackers coach Scott McCurley . McCarthy planned to keep defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander, but he accepted a defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach position with the Minnesota Vikings .
Crossman takes over the special teams unit, as Danny Smith took the same coordinator role in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers following Mike Tomlin's resignation. The Steelers requested an interview with Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone , but he took on the same role with the Los Angeles Rams .
On Sunday, it was reported that the Steelers completed an interview with former Buffalo Bills special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley. The Steelers decided to go with the veteran in Crossman who has ties to McCarthy from their time together at Pitt.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Hire Veteran Special Teams Coach
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