The Steelers parted ways with senior special teams coach Derius Swinton on Friday, cutting short a stint that lasted just 3 1/2 months. The move came during Pittsburgh’s organized team activities and was tied to what the club described as a violation of club policy.
Swinton had joined the staff as the top assistant to special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, making him one of the more prominent new voices in a coaching room already adjusting to a major offseason reset. Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy as its new head coach and got Aaron Rodgers to return for one more year under center, changes that made this a busy stretch even before the dismissal became public.
That is what gives the move its weight: Swinton was not a long-ago hire or a fringe addition. He had only been on the Steelers staff since about 3 1/2 months before Friday, and his exit came while the team was in the middle of OTAs. The short timeline leaves the special teams unit without its top assistant just as the new coaching structure is taking shape.
There is, however, a detail the team has not filled in. Pittsburgh cited a violation of club policy, but did not say which policy Swinton allegedly violated. That leaves the reason for his firing broad enough to explain the decision, but not specific enough to show whether it involved conduct, procedure or something else entirely.
Swinton’s firing also closes a brief chapter in a coaching career that began in 2009 and stretched across a 10-team journey. He finished the 2025 season with the Raiders as interim special teams coordinator after three years as an assistant coach, and he also spent time with the 49ers and Chargers before landing in Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ coaching overhaul has already moved fast since Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons following a first-round playoff loss to the Texans, and Swinton’s exit is another sign the new regime is still sorting itself out. For now, the unanswered question is not whether he is gone — it is what exactly the club policy issue was that ended his run so quickly.
Derius Swinton II out at Steelers after club policy violation
