{"id":730647,"date":"2026-02-05T06:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730647\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T06:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:53:25","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-hire-former-commanders-defensive-coordinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730647\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers hire former Commanders defensive coordinator"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Pittsburgh Steelers continue building their coaching staff as former Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. joins as assistant head coach\/secondary coach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The 47-year-old enters the city of bridges with a wealth of NFL experience, including extensive time under Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. A Super Bowl champion in 2011, Whitt has been in the big leagues since 2007, with roles ranging from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>Steelers bolster defensive staff with experienced piece<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The announcement came on Wednesday as NFL insider Tom Pelissero broke the news via an X post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">\u201cThe Steelers are hiring former Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. as assistant head coach\/secondary coach, sources say,\u201d said Pelissero. \u201cWhitt, 47, spent 11 seasons on Mike McCarthy\u2019s staff with the Packers. Now, they\u2019re reunited in Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">As stated by Pelissero, Whitt reunites with McCarthy in Pittsburgh, where the two will work closely together. Whitt\u2019s experience is not limited to the defensive side of the ball; he also served in pass game coordination throughout his career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">During his time in Green Bay, the Auburn alumnus worked with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. With the veteran yet to decide on his return, the addition of Whitt could potentially have an influence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">McCarthy continues to influence coaching staff decisions, as a combination of experience and familiarity is expected to propel the Steelers in 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers continue building their coaching staff as former Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. joins&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,6,520,57,79738,2374,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-730647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-pittsburgh","11":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","12":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-coaching-staff","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-news","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116016710233889717","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}