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The Pittsburgh Steelers organization is turning into quite the coaching tree. In other words, players who have been a part of the organization are certainly moving up the coaching ranks throughout the NFL.
Whether it be Byron Leftwich being the offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or Hines Ward getting his start coaching receivers, plenty of former players are back in the NFL helping the next crop of players achieve their goals.
A day after former Steelers backup quarterback Tee Martin was announced as the Baltimore Ravens’ wide receivers coach, it is now being reported by Tom Pelissero, of the NFL Network, former Steelers receiver Antwaan Randle El is going to be the next receiver coach for the Detroit Lions.
The #Lions are expected to hire Antwaan Randle El as their wide receivers coach, source said. Randle El, the longtime NFL receiver, just finished a Super Bowl run as an offensive assistant with the #Bucs.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 9, 2021
Randle El played for the Steelers from 2002-2005 before leaving for the Washington Redskins in free agency. He played for Washington from 2006-2009 before returning the Steelers for a second stint in 2010 before being released from the team in 2011.
After his playing career was over, Randle El tried on many hats in his post-football career. In 2013, he became the athletic director at Virginia Academy in Ashburn, Virginia, a Christian high school he helped found. He has done plenty of television work, but got into coaching in 2019. Randle El joined the coaching staff of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offensive assistant, reuniting with his former wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.
It was his work with Tampa Bay which has given him the opportunity to get a promotion to wide receivers coach under new head coach Dan Campbell in Detroit.
During his career, Randle El put up the following statistics:
Receptions: 370
Receiving yards: 4,467
Receiving touchdowns: 15
Total return yards: 4,316
Return touchdowns: 6
Passing yards: 323
Passing touchdowns: 6
Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the new league year, NFL Free Agency and the 2021 NFL Draft.