The Pittsburgh Steelers are hiring former Miami Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman to come join Mike McCarthy’s staff, according to multiple reports. They had interviewed former Bills special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley before deciding to hire Crossman.
Crossman was out of football in 2025 after being let go by the Dolphins following the 2024 season. Over his career, there was no overlap between McCarthy and Crossman in coaching stops, but Crossman is a veteran special teams coordinator.
He first ascended to special teams coordinator in 2007 with the Carolina Panthers. Over his career, Crossman has been the special teams coordinator for the Panthers, Lions, Bills, and Dolphins.
He started out at the collegiate level, working for UCF, Western Kentucky, Michigan State, and Georgia Tech before taking a gig with the Panthers as a special teams assistant in 2003.
Hailing from El Paso, Texas, Crossman is a former football player at the University of Pittsburgh, giving him direct ties to the city, though he never coached at his alma mater. As a player, Crossman was a defensive back, and that is where he started coaching in 1993 for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
The Steelers lost their longtime special teams coordinator Danny Smith to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Mike Tomlin stepped down, forcing McCarthy to go out and hire someone new at the spot.