Former Steelers Assistant Lou Spanos Becomes Interim Head Coach at UConn

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Sep 7, 2021

EAST HARTFORD, CT - SEPTEMBER 04: UConn Huskies interim Head Coach Lou Spanos during the game as the Holy Cross Crusaders take on the UConn Huskies on September 4, 2021, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.(Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire)

Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Lou Spanos will be a head coach for the first time, at least on an interim basis, following the retirement of Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall.

 Spanos spent 15 seasons in Pittsburgh as defensive quality control coach and assistant linebackers coach from 1995-2009, working under both head coach Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. He was part of the Steelers’ Super Bowl XL and XLIII winning coaching staffs.

Spanos had been the defensive coordinator at UConn under Edsall since 2019. Before that, he also had coaching stops as an analyst at Alabama (2018), linebackers coach with the Tennessee Titans (2014-17) and Washington Redskins (2010-11), and defensive coordinator at UCLA (2012-13).

Spanos is a Pittsburgh native and attended Keystone Oaks High School in the South Hills. He played center in high school and collegiately at Tulsa, where he was a three-year starter. Spanos coached for one year a student assistant at his alma mater before joining the Steelers in 1995.

Edsall chose to retire after an 0-2 start to the season for the Huskies, including a 45-0 loss at Fresno State on Aug. 28 and a 38-28 loss at home to Holy Cross on Saturday.

Spanos will make his head coaching debut on Saturday when UConn visits Purdue, with a 3 p.m. kickoff on CBS Sports Network.