Danny Crossman enjoyed life in Pittsburgh during his college years, so he happily said yes to a coaching job that brought him back here.
A former cornerback at Pitt, Crossman accepted a job offer from Mike McCarthy in February to become the Steelers’ special teams coordinator. Early in the hiring process, Crossman went from having interest in the job to knowing he absolutely needed it.
But his fondness for living in the Steel City was only one of his reasons.
“To be honest, let’s not get it twisted. The Pittsburgh Steelers is an iconic franchise,” said Crossman, mentioning the six Lombardi Trophies he now walks by every day. “I spent four fabulous years at the University of Pittsburgh. It’s a wonderful city. I love it. … But make no mistake about it, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike McCarthy, who’s a Super Bowl-winning head coach and offensive play caller, (defensive coordinator) Pat Graham, who I’ve worked with … all those things came together.
“It went from, yeah, I’m interested, to I have to get this. This is too good of an opportunity.”
Crossman, 59, is a veteran special teams coach, having worked as a coordinator for 33 years at either the college or NFL level. Before becoming a coach, however, Crossman was a three-year letterman for Pitt in the late 1980s, a team captain his senior year and a Japan Bowl all-star.
His coaching career led him since to places such as South Florida and the Motor City, but Crossman said he always held an appreciation for Pittsburgh. Why so?
“You name it,” he said Friday at the Steelers’ practice facility. “The people, the neighborhoods, the passion. I mean, walk down the street on a Saturday … with the Pirates playing, with the Penguins in the playoffs, you’re going to see a lot of black and gold, and a lot of excitement buzzing in this city.
“And that doesn’t happen everywhere,” he added. “The passion that the fans have … it’s a special place, in my opinion.”
Crossman most recently coached the Miami Dolphins special teams for six seasons, ending in 2024. He had previous stints with Carolina (2005-09), Detroit (2010-12) and Buffalo (2013-18), but spent last season away from football.
Crossman said the past year let him step back, watch games, talk with others and learn without the weekly pressure of planning for Sunday.
“I found out for sure that I missed the day-in and day-out of football, and especially being able to be on the grass,” he said.
The AFC North is his fifth different division. That makes a difference, he said, adding that special teams are played differently from one place to another.
His rosters in the south maybe had more speed, while northern teams such as Buffalo had to prepare more for the elements. He sees the Steelers’ roster as built around toughness.
“The element of toughness has been the Pittsburgh Steelers since I was a kid,” Crossman said. “That’s the starting point to playing good football, and especially to be able to get where we really want to get to, which is winning games and getting to the playoffs.
“And then ultimately put the seventh up there on that second floor that I get to walk by every day.”