New Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line coach Domata Peko is joining an NFL staff as a position coach for the first time in his career. It just so happens to be the team who he faced off against for over a decade with the Cincinnati Bengals.
After being hired earlier this week, Peko talked about joining the Steelers staff and his reaction to getting a chance to coach in the NFL.
“You’re always blessed when you get an opportunity to elevate,” Peko said on Thee Pregame Network. “And especially with an organization like Pittsburgh, the Steelers. Don’t get much better than that… gotta go to the next level and help out coach Mike McCarthy, which is a blessing for me. Spent some time with him in Dallas, and I’m happy to get back to work with him with the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Peko came into the NFL in 2006 and spent over a decade with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2006 to 2016. He would spend another four seasons in the NFL playing for the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, and Arizona Cardinals.
He joined Mike McCarthy’s staff in Dallas in 2024 when he was a defensive assistant. That was due to then Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer knowing Peko well from their time together in Cincinnati.
Peko joined Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado this past season as the defensive line coach, and a year later, he jumps to the NFL to join the Steelers.
Peko was a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State in the 2006 NFL Draft. He mainly played a space-eating nose tackle over his career, and that earned him a sterling reputation as an excellent run defender.