The Pittsburgh Steelers officially hired Patrick Graham as their defensive coordinator Friday. That’s noteworthy given what else is happening with the Steelers coaching staff, specifically secondary coach Gerald Alexander.
This week, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported Alexander was set to be one of three assistants new head coach Mike McCarthy planned to retain from Mike Tomlin’s last coaching staff.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor also reported Friday that Alexander was a coach McCarthy would like to keep. But compared to Dulac’s report, Pryor suggested it was far less of a guarantee Alexander would return to Pittsburgh.
“McCarthy could also target secondary coach Gerland Alexander as a coach to retain, but he’s expected to have interest in joining Brian Flores’ defensive staff in Minnesota, sources told ESPN,” wrote Pryor.
Ironically, Brian Flores was one of just two other candidates besides McCarthy to interview for the Steelers head coaching job. Flores spent the 2022 season on Pittsburgh’s staff under Tomlin.
Flores has been the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator the past three seasons. Shortly after his head coaching interview with the Steelers this month, Flores signed a contract extension to remain the Vikings defensive coordinator.
Vikings Showing Interest in Gerald Alexander
The Steelers assistants Dulac reported McCarthy was expected to retain were coaches he held previously relationships with. The lone exception was Alexander, but the defensive backs coach worked under Graham for a season in Las Vegas.
However, Alexander’s relationship with Flores dates further back. He served as defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins from 2020-21. At the time, Flores was Miami’s head coach.
Like Flores, the 2022 season was Alexander’s first year with the Steelers. Alexander left to coach safeties with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024. That’s the season in which he worked under Graham.
Last year, he returned to the Steelers to be Pittsburgh’s defensive backs coach.
Alexander started his coaching career as a student assistant at Arkansas State in 2013. He coached defensive backs in college through the 2019 season until getting his first NFL opportunity under Flores.
At the professional level, Alexander has only coached with the Steelers, Dolphins and Raiders.
Could Alexander Leave Steelers for Lateral Move to Vikings?
Alexander moving on to the Vikings is potentially complicated. Pryor didn’t offer any details about what role Flores would want Alexander to fill. That’s noteworthy because if it’s the same position as his job in Pittsburgh, the Steelers could block the move.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora wrote on X on Friday night that he was unable to confirm the job title of Alexander’s potential role in Minnesota.
“It’s not clear what role Alexander could have in Minnesota,” Kozora also wrote. “If it’s a pure lateral move to defensive backs coach, and if Alexander is under contract (a reasonable thought given that he was hired in 2025 on what’s typically a two-year deal), the Steelers would be able to block the move.
“A promotion could be tricky based on Alexander’s exact role and title, though, Pittsburgh could still allow him to exit.”
The Steelers were allowing assistant coaches to exit prior to the team hiring McCarthy. In fact, they were encouraging it.
McCarthy, though, reportedly wants to keep Alexander. So, it’s unclear if his potential contract supersedes what general manager Omar Khan told Steelers assistants during the time in which the team had no head coach.
The Steelers secondary performed well with Alexander as their defensive backs coach in 2025. Steelers defensive backs posted 54 pass defenses and nine interceptions during the regular season.
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