Pittsburgh Steelers poach sitting Big 12 coach to join Mike McCarthy staff

by: Daniel Hager 10 hours ago DanielHagerOn3

The Pittsburgh Steelers are hiring Texas Tech OLB coach C.J. Ah You in the same role. On3’s Pete Nakos reported the news.

With Ah You on staff, Texas Tech won its first-ever Big 12 Championship and made an appearance in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff. He had been a member of the Red Raiders’ staff since 2022, and briefly served as defensive coordinator in 2024.

Now, the former NFL defensive end will join newly hired Mike McCarthy ‘s staff with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ah You previously made a stop on the XFL’s New York Guardians’ staff in 2020, but has never coached in the NFL.

Texas Tech’s C.J. Ah You has accepted the outside linebackers coach job with the #Steelers, sources tell @CBSSports.

The former NFL defensive end has coached standouts such as David Bailey and Romello Height at Texas Tech. pic.twitter.com/oBX8hfcRB6

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 5, 2026

Texas Tech was one of the best defensive teams in all of college football this season, allowing just 258.3 yards (third best in the NCAA) and 11.8 points (third best in the NCAA) per game. The Red Raiders finished the season with an 11-1 record, knocked off No. 11 BYU 34-7 in the Big 12 Championship Game, and earned the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Things did not go well for Tech in the College Football Playoff, however, as it was blanked 23-0 by No. 5 Oregon in the Quarterfinals. Although the season ended with a bit of a thud, you can’t take away how great a season it was for the Red Raiders. Ah You has now parlayed that into an NFL opportunity, which serves as a massive loss for Tech.

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