The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Anthony Midget to help replace former assistant secondary coach Gerald Alexander, who took the safeties coach job with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Midget, 46, is a Florida native and a former NFL cornerback with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2000-01. He played for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin during his brief stint in the NFL with the Bucs. And he is excited to join Mike Tomlin’s staff.
“You think about the Pittsburgh Steelers, you think about what they’re meant for, a great defense. Coach Tomlin, what stability he has there. It’s just been great. And just to be in the city for the short time I’ve been there, the fan base and the way they have that passion for football, there’s no better place to be. A great organization,” Midget said in an interview with Vicktory Life.
He immediately got into coaching at the high school level after his playing career ended. In 2007, he joined the staff at his alma mater, Virginia Tech, as a a graduate assistant. From there, the went to Georgia State, where he was defensive backs coach, special teams coordinator and then defensive coordinator from 2008-2011.
Midget had a one-year stop as safeties coach at Penn State in 2013 before getting his first shot in the NFL with the Houston Texans in 2014. He spent five seasons in Houston, three as assistant secondary coach and two more as secondary coach under head coach Bill O’Brien.
He became the defensive backs coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2020, a post he held for two years before he was fired last January. Midget did not coach in the NFL in 2023, working at Florida State.
Midget is the first new defensive coach the Steelers have hired in 2024, joining a host of new faces on the offensive staff, inclining offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth, wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni, offensive assistant Matt Baker and offensive assistant Mateo Kambui. The Steelers also turned over their entire strength and conditioning staff.