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 shed more light on this abrupt turn of events.

Sources told Schefter that Swinton was fired in violation of team policy. However, more information emerged later that day. According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, the Steelers decided because of “workplace misconduct.” But the franchise has not disclosed the specific misconduct 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 Chiefs ranked dead last in the NFL in points scored (averaging a measly 13.2 points per game) and tied for the worst turnover differential in the league with a whopping 37 giveaways.

To be fair, Swinton wasn’t at fault for the major systemic failures that doomed the team. On the contrary, he did his job effectively by helping maintain a strong special teams unit. His special role demanded focused film breakdown, statistical data tracking, and prep work for the senior coordinators. During that time, he worked under Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon, and his biggest achievement was Dustin Colquitt.

Colquitt had a stellar individual season, and he even got the nod for Pro Bowl honors. That’s why, after the 2012 season, the Chiefs’ top brass ordered a complete overhaul but didn’t tarnish Swinton’s reputation, allowing him to quickly land a job with the Denver Broncos. After a few stops in the league, Swinton’s most recent stint was with the Las Vegas Raiders for three seasons before he stepped into Pittsburgh.

In 2025, Derius Swinton became the interim special teams coordinator mid-season when special teams coordinator Tom McMahon was fired. Under Swinton’s direct guidance over the final phase of the season, rookie linebacker Tommy Eichenberg thrived on coverage units. Eichenberg led the Raiders with 21 special teams tackles, positioning him among the top coverage players in the entire NFL.

The Steelers have yet to name Swinton’s replacement, but Mike McCarthy is expected to address the situation during 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 and 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 season, 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 see how this new unit fares with a new change in the staff.