Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Darian Thompson as the team’s new special teams quality control coach, the team listed in a recent update.
Thompson replaces senior assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton II, who was fired in late May for violating club policy. Mike McCarthy told reporters on June 2 that he was looking to fill the vacancy.
Thompson will work under special teams coach Danny Crossman. The Steelers did not have an assistant special teams coach when Danny Smith was the coordinator from 2013-25, so it’s another new change that McCarthy has implemented.
Thompson has ties to McCarthy both as a player and coach. Thompson spent the 2018-2021 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He then joined McCarthy’s staff as an assistant linebackers coach and quality control coach. In 2025, he served as Dallas’ secondary/nickels coach.
Thompson was not retained by Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, so he was looking for a new job. He now reunites with McCarthy.
Thompson finished his NFL career with 173 total tackles. He played mostly on special teams.
McCarthy’s staff is filled with coaches who have worked with him at previous stops. McCarthy was a graduate assistant at Pitt for Crossman’s final year with the Panthers in 1989.
Former Cowboys coaches are also on his staff — running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung Sr., wide receivers coach Adam Henry and linebackers coach Scott McCurley.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Hire New Special Teams Coach
