The Pittsburgh Steelers made a surprising move this week, firing assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton II. The team showing him the door at this time of the year implied that there was more to the story. ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw more light on this abrupt turn of events.

Sources told Schefter that Swinton was fired in violation of team policy. The Steelers have not disclosed the specific violation that led to Swinton’s departure. The former coach is yet to present his side of the story.

Considering that this is head coach Mike McCarthy’s first season, this development is drawing some attention. Swinton was fired just a little over 3 months after he was hired.

He is, however, a tenured coach and has been in the league for close to two decades now. Swinton has worked with the Los Angeles Chargers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs, and many other teams. 

Swinton was the special teams quality control coach for the Chiefs, and was the first to be hired by the team in the newly-created role in 2012. But his time was short-lived, as the team had one of its worst seasons in history that year, finishing 2-14. The top brass ordered a major overhaul of the coaching staff, leading to Swinton’s exit. 

Before the Steelers, his most recent stint was with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he spent three seasons. In 2025, Derius Swinton became the interim special teams coordinator mid-season when special teams coordinator Tom McMahon was fired.

The Steelers have yet to announce a replacement for Swinton, but McCarthy could be expected to comment on it soon in his next media availability. Whether or not Swinton’s departure will be a detriment to the team could also be a possible question.

A look at the Steelers’ special teams unit

Veteran assistant Danny Crossman will be the Steelers’ new special teams coordinator in the Mike McCarthy regime. This is his 23rd year in the NFL, spending time with multiple teams. He spent six years each as special teams coordinator with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.

He will be in charge of a unit that is also markedly different from last year. This offseason, the Steelers lost anchors like Miles Killebrew and Connor Heyward. They signed RB Travis Homer, fullback Riley Nowakowski, and drafted return specialist Kaden Wetjen this year. Seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings is also in the fold.

All these additions have made it clear that McCarthy wants a complete do-over in the special teams performance. Christina Rivers of Steel City Underground gave the group a B grade because the unit wasn’t particularly spectacular.

However, the Steelers have secured the stars who kept the special teams going. They re-signed kicker Chris Boswell to a record-setting four-year, $28 million deal, tying him with Brandon Aubrey as the highest-paid kicker in the league. Wide receiver Ben Skowronek, the only player from the Steelers’ special teams unit to make the Pro Bowl last year, is also present. 

Mike McCarthy and Crossman clearly have new plans about how to get more performance out of the special teams. But Derius Swinton II was also part of this plan, and surely had an important role to play as an assistant. We will have to wait and watch how this new unit fares with a new change in the staff.