Steelers mysteriously fire coach after just three-plus months

Mike McCarthy’s first Steelers staff has already taken a hit.

The team parted with senior special teams coach Derius Swinton on Friday due to mysterious a violation of club policy, according to reports.

There is no mention of which specific policy Swinton is alleged to have violated.

Special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on before on during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Getty Images

The move comes in the midst of Pittsburgh’s organized team activities, just 3 1/2 months after Swinton came aboard the Steelers staff as the top assistant to special teams coordinator Danny Crossman.

He finished out the 2025 season as the Raiders’ interim special teams coordinator after three years as an assistant coach.

He previously spent time with the 49ers and Chargers during a 10-team career that began in 2009.

Whether McCarthy replaces Swinton, a former player at Hampton University, remains to be seen.

The Steelers were a main player in a massive offseason coaching carousel, with longtime head coach Mike Tomlin stepping down after 19 seasons at the helm following a first-round playoff loss to the Texans.

That led them to McCarthy, the former Cowboys and Packers coach, who undertook the task of leading the Steelers in to the next era.

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, right, listens to head coach Mike McCarthy during practice. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Part of that was getting quarterback Aaron Rodgers — his former Green Bay charge — to return for one more year under center while the team searches for a long-term solution at the position.