Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Darnell Stapleton is joining the Washington Commanders coaching staff under new head coach Dan Quinn as their assistant offensive line coach. Stapleton joins the team after spending the last two seasons coaching Florida’s offensive line, where they produced multiple NFL players, most notably O’Cyrus Torrence.
He played with the Steelers from 2007 to 2009 and was undrafted out of Rutgers. But 2008 would be Stapleton’s biggest impact, as he played in 14 games and started 12 games at guard for the team. All of that helped power Pittsburgh that year, and Stapleton would become a Super Bowl champion as a result.
He was out of football officially in 2010 but quickly started up his coaching career. Stapleton started as the head coach of the New York Sharks of the Women’s Football Alliance and worked until he joined Rutgers as a graduate assistant in 2013. From there, Stapleton would become the offensive line coach at Bucknell, then Sam Houston State, and then Louisana under Billy Napier until he took the job at Florida. Now, Stapleton is heading to the NFL.
He is not the only former Steelers player on the staff, either. Former Steelers cornerbacks Jason Simmons and William Gay are also set to be on Quinn’s staff.
Simmons was the Steelers’ fifth-round pick out of Arizona State in the 1998 NFL Draft. He spent four years with the team, the last three of them as a regular at Nickel corner, before leaving for Houston via free agency. He played another six seasons in Houston, finishing his career with 121 games played, 241 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 10 passes defended.
Gay, 39, was the Steelers’ fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He spent 10 years with the Steelers over two stints, from 2007-11 and 2013-17. Gay started his career in the slot before moving to outside cornerback, and then finished his career back in the slot. He played 176 game and made 101 starts, 86 of them with the Steelers.