Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend has found a new home for the 2024 season.
Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported on February 8 that the Detroit Lions are hiring Townsend to their defensive staff.
Pro Football Talk reported that Townsend will serve as Detroit’s defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Townsend held that same role with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2022-23.
Townsend spent 12 seasons with the Steelers from 1998-2009. He started 80 contests and 7 playoff games during his dozen seasons. The team won two Super Bowls during that time.
Townsend was in the starting lineup for the 2006 Super Bowl and served as the team’s nickel cornerback in the 2009 Super Bowl.
Ex-Steelers CB Deshea Townsend Lands Gig with Detroit Lions
Townsend jumped right into coaching after his playing career ending following the 2010 season. His first coaching job was as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Arizona Cardinals in 2011. After two seasons with the Cardinals, he became cornerbacks coach at Mississippi State.
He came back to the NFL with the Tennessee Titans as defensive backs coach in 2016. The past two seasons, he’s served as defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars fired Townsend, along with several other defensive assistants, including defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell, on January 8. Before Jacksonville, Townsend also coached as a defensive assistant for the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.
Townsend will be joining a Lions coaching staff that hasn’t lost any coaches yet this offseason. But they have made one other coaching addition.
On February 1, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported the Lions were hiring Terrell Williams as defensive line and run game coordinator.
Townsend’s Contributions to the Steelers
Townsend could be a key addition to the Lions, a team with Super Bowl aspirations in 2024, due to his playing experience in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers drafted Townsend in the fourth round of the 1998 NFL draft. He became a regular starter in 2004 after six years as mostly a reserve cornerback.
From 2004-08, Townsend started 62 games, posting 224 combined tackles, 12 interceptions and 58 pass defenses. During that span, the Steelers finished first in yards allowed on defense three times and won two Super Bowls.
Of his 12 interceptions in that 5-year span, 2 of them were quite noteworthy. Townsend recorded a pick-6 against New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in a matchup on October 31, 2004. The Steelers knocked off the Patriots, 34-20, to end New England’s record 21-game winning streak.
In 2008, Townsend also returned an interception for a touchdown versus Dallas Cowboys signal caller Tony Romo. That pick-6 came in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter of a tied game on December 7. Townsend’s touchdown capped off a 17-point fourth quarter for the Steelers in the 20-13 Pittsburgh win.
The victory helped the Steelers secure the AFC North title and a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Steelers concluded that season with their sixth Super Bowl title.
In 12 seasons in Pittsburgh, Townsend posted 460 combined tackles, 21 interceptions and 15.5 sacks. He also had 111 pass defenses and returned 3 of his interceptions for touchdowns.
Townsend finished his playing career with the Indianapolis Colts in 2010.
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Steelers 2-Time Super Bowl Champion Joins New Coaching Staff: Report