{"id":730878,"date":"2026-02-05T10:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730878\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:02:21","slug":"report-steelers-hiring-montana-states-shawn-howe-to-coaching-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730878\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Steelers Hiring Montana State’s Shawn Howe To Coaching Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy the last few days filling out their coaching staff and are adding at least one more name to their defensive staff. According to Montana Sports on Twitter,<\/a> the Steelers are hiring Montana State University defensive coordinator Shawn Howe to coach their outside linebackers and edge defenders.<\/p>\n

Howe, 44, has been with Montana State since 2021, holding a number of titles during that time. This past season was his first as its full-time defensive coordinator. Previously, he had been a co-defensive coordinator, defensive run game coordinator, and defensive line coach.<\/p>\n

Howe also took to Twitter to pen<\/a> a lengthy goodbye to Montana State. He thanked the players, coaches, and fans for his time there. It\u2019s a nice gesture from Howe to the program that has employed him for the last few years.<\/p>\n

Howe has never coached in the NFL. Beginning in 2004, he\u2019s spent his career at the college level. He\u2019s had stops at USC, Coastal Carolina, Dixie State, Humboldt State, Tennessee, Memphis, North Carolina State, and Rocky Mountain. While at USC, he worked with DL Leonard Williams, a future first-round draft pick.<\/p>\n

Denzel Martin had previously been the Steelers\u2019 outside linebackers coach. However, much like the rest of last year\u2019s staff, he didn\u2019t remain in Pittsburgh after Mike Tomlin left. While Howe didn\u2019t coach outside linebackers at Montana State, that was actually the first position group he coached in his career. He also played defensive end and linebacker at the College of Redwoods.<\/p>\n

Howe\u2019s got a lot of talent to work with in Pittsburgh. The Steelers\u2019 edge rusher room consists of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Jack Sawyer. It will be interesting to see how they develop under Howe.<\/p>\n

This is a slightly surprising hire by the Steelers. It breaks the mold of the other coaches McCarthy has added to his staff. Essentially all of them have coached under McCarthy before, and they have some NFL experience. Howe is an exception.<\/p>\n

The closest comparison would be the Steelers hiring Domata Peko as their defensive line coach. Peko is only slightly more experienced coaching at the NFL level than Howe. He spent 2024 working under Mike McCarthy has a defensive assistant. Then, he became the defensive line coach at the University of Colorado.<\/p>\n

However, McCarthy stated that he wanted to add some young and hungry coaches to his staff. That was one of the four criteria <\/a>that he says he uses to hire coaches. With this being Howe\u2019s first shot at the NFL, he should be hungry to prove himself. McCarthy has hired plenty of veteran coaches, too. Howe should have a good opportunity to learn a lot. We\u2019ll see how he does making the jump from college to the NFL.<\/p>\n

Our Steelers coaching staff tracker is updated to reflect this reported move and Wednesday\u2019s news of the team officially agreeing to a deal to make Minnesota Vikings pass game coordinator\/tight ends coach Brian Angelichio their new offensive coordinator.<\/a><\/p>\n