Deion Sanders will have yet another staff position to fill on a new-look Colorado staff as he heads into year four in Boulder.
Buffs defensive line coach Domato Peko is reportedly leaving after one season with the program for an opportunity in the NFL.
Multiple reports share tonight that Peko is joining the staff of Mike McCarthy as the Steelers new defensive line coach. The Athletic was among the first to share the news.
Peko is in just his third year as a coach. He spent the 2024 season as a defensive assistant with the Cowboys, 2025 at Colorado, and is now set for a return to the NFL with Mike McCarthy’s staff in Pittsburgh.
In Pittsburgh, he will replace Karl Dunbar, a former Alabama and LSU defensive line coach with multiple NFL stops. Dunbar spent the past eight seasons coaching the Steelers defensive line and also played with the franchise for a season in 1990.
A former fourth-round pick out of Michigan State, Peko enjoyed a 15-year NFL career and spent 11 seasons with the Bengals before going on to play for the Broncos, Ravens and Cardinals before hanging up his clears in 2020. He walked away from the game with over 600 career tackles, and 20 sacks.
He spent a few seasons away from the game before getting his start in coaching with McCarthy and the Cowboys in 2024, where he rejoined former Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who was calling the defense in Dallas.
As the new defensive line coach in Pittsburgh, he will inherit a veteran group that includes Cameron Heyward, who is set to enter his 16th season in the NFL as well as some good young talent including first-round pick Derrick Harmon (a former Michigan State standout that finished his career at Oregon after entering the transfer portal), and Yahya Black a fifth round pick out of Iowa.
Wthout his son Shadeur at quarterback, and without Travis Hunter making plays on both sides of the ball, Colorado dropped to a disappointing 3-9 this year and made a change at a number of spots.
Gone are offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, and in is former Sacramento State (FCS – CA) head coach Brennan Marion to run the offense, and Marshall Faulk also left Boulder after one season coaching the Buffs running backs to become the head coach at Southern (FCS – LA) while Gainesville HS (GA) head coach Josh Niblett has joined the program as tight ends coach.
On the defensive side of things, Prime brought in former Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Chris Marve as linebackers coach, and Aaron Fletcher from Abilene Christian (FCS – TX) as the new corners coach.
If Warren Sapp doesn’t slide from pass rush coordinator to the defensive line spot, the latest hire will work alongside the NFL Hall of Famer with the Buffs defensive front, as well as Marve to stabilize the defensive front.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.