New Pittsburgh Steelers Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman knows there’s one thing a 40 time or data set can’t measure: Toughness. To him, it’s the basic ingredient required for anyone to play and succeed. Good news. He thinks Pittsburgh has plenty of it.
“The good thing about this team, one thing you’re not going to have to bring is the element of toughness,” he said via a team-provided transcript. “The element of toughness has been the Pittsburgh Steelers since I was a kid.”
It’s a comment Crossman’s made during past stops of a long NFL coaching career. One that began as an assistant in Carolina.
“Selfless, smart, tough, available. If you have those things, you have a chance,” Crossman once said of success in a 2019 interview.
Special teamers don’t have to be the biggest and fastest. Many of the most successful names don’t fit that bill. It requires a certain mentality to succeed. Doing the grunt work others won’t, and honing your craft to gain an edge. Wide receiver Ben Skowronek is a perfect example. Years ago, linebacker Tyler Matakevich fit the mold.
Crossman’s comments about Pittsburgh aren’t just self-serving. He knows the region well. Though he grew up in Philadelphia, he made his way to Pittsburgh during college. After a year at Kansas, he followed coaches Mike Gottfried and Bob Valesente to the Panthers. Crossman became a starting safety, helping Pitt win the 1989 Sun Bowl. As a senior, he was coached by a then-young grad assistant named Mike McCarthy.
“It was one of those things, it went from yeah, I’m interested, to I have to get this. This is too good of an opportunity to not have this,” Crossman said of the job.
Crossman takes over for long-time coach Danny Smith, who departed for the same role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Crossman’s goal is to keep kicker Chris Boswell’s excellent career on track, maintain a largely successful coverage unit, but improve the team’s punting and return game. Still, couching all that in toughness is the key to making his time in Pittsburgh a success.
“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. So, toughness, discipline, smart football is what we’re going to try and play in the game.”
Seventh, of course, referring to the next Lombardi Trophy. Toughness was a hallmark of the past six championship clubs and will be required for the franchise’s next long playoff run. A culture that Crossman only has to continue, not cultivate, which made Pittsburgh’s job attractive in the first place.