Steelers Move on from Assistant Coaches Tom Bradley, Shaun Sarrett

In addition to offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, two other Steelers coaches will not be returning for the 2021 season, as the team announced that assistant coaches Tom Bradley and Shaun Sarrett will not have their contracts renewed.

“I want to thank all three of the coaches for their commitment and dedication to the Pittsburgh Steelers,” head coach Mike Tomlin said in a press release.

Bradley, 64, spent three years as the Steelers defensive backs coach after a long collegiate career, most notably at his alma mater Penn State, where he moved up the ranks from graduate assistant to defense coordinator, where he served from 2000-11. He was Lions interim head coach at the end of the 2011 season after the firing of Joe Paterno. Bradley also coached at West Virginia and UCLA before joining the Steelers.

As defensive backs coach, Bradley oversaw one of the league’s best pass defenses in 2020. The Steelers finished the league second with 198.4 yards per game allowed through the air this past season and were no worse than fourth in any of Bradley’s three seasons leading the secondary.

Sarrett, 41, spent nine seasons with the Steelers, the last two as offensive line coach, taking over from former mentor Mike Munchak in 2019. Before that, Sarrett was an offensive assistant from 2012-17 and the assistant offensive line coach in 2018.

A Beckley, West Virginia native, Sarrett played college football at Kent State and coached at Marshall and Duke before joining the Steelers.

The 2020 Steelers’ line was the best in the NFL at protecting its quarterback, as Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 0.8 times per game, the best mark in the NFL. But the Steelers were woeful running the ball, finishing a dead-last 32nd in the league with a 3.6 yards per carry rushing average.