On Tuesday the Steelers announced that they had named Gerald Alexander as the team’s new defensive backs coach.

Alexander spent time with the Steelers for two seasons in 2022 and 2023 as an assistant defensive backs coach and spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders as their safeties coach.

During his tenure in Pittsburgh, the Steelers recorded 36 interceptions which was good for the second-most in the NFL as well as allowing opposing quarterbacks to have an 84.7 passer rating which was 10th best in the NFL.

Before coming to Pittsburgh the first time around, he was a defensive backs coach for Miami in 2020 and 2021 when the Dolphins allowed opposing quarterbacks to have an 85.4 passer rating,g and his DBs were tied for first in the NFL in interceptions with 18 in 2020.

Prior to his coaching stops at the NFL level, he coached at California, Montana State, Indiana State, Washington, and Arkansas State.

Alexander, as a player, was selected in the second round, 61st overall in the 2007 draft. He went on to play 44 games, starting 30 of those games, during a five-year career between Detroit, Jacksonville, Carolina, Miami, and the New York Jets. During his career, he had 154 total tackles, 116 of them solo tackles, 14 passes defended, four forced fumbles, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries, and two sacks.

The Los Angeles native returns to the Steelers and the hope is to get safety Minkah Fitzpatrick back to all-pro form. During Alexander’s tenure with the Steelers, Fitzpatrick recorded a career-high six interceptions and his third-career First-Team All-Pro selection.