From rival defender to defensive line coach, Domata Peko brings his hard-nosed playing experience to Pittsburgh's new era.
Domata Peko was a division rival of the Pittsburgh Steelers during most of his 15-year NFL playing career, but now he is on their side.
The Steelers hired Peko this week to be their defensive line coach. Peko spent the first 11 seasons of his career as a defensive tackle with the Cincinnati Bengals (2006-16) before moving to the Denver Broncos (2017-18), Baltimore Ravens (2019), and Arizona Cardinals (2020).
Peko began his coaching career in 2024 as a defensive assistant with the Dallas Cowboys, who were then coached by current Pittsburgh coach Mike McCarthy. Last season, Peko moved to the college ranks, serving as the defensive line coach at Colorado when the Buffaloes went 3-9.
The Bengals drafted Peko in the fourth round in 2006 from Michigan State. The native of American Samoa played in 214 career games, starting 194. He had 20 sacks and 47 tackles for loss. Peko’s teams reached the playoffs seven times, but their record in those games was 0-7.
Peko played against the Steelers 24 times in the regular season. He had three sacks, and his teams had an 8-16 record.
Peko is one of 10 new assistant coaches hired since McCarthy replaced Mike Tomlin on Jan. 27. Peko joins offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, assistant head coach/secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr., offensive line coach James Campen, assistant offensive line coach Jahri Evans, running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung Sr., receivers coach Adam Henry, defensive line coach Domata Peko, and defensive quality control coach Pat Reilly.
Pittsburgh has retained quarterback Tom Arth and inside linebackers coach Scott McCurley from Tomlin’s staff.
Tomlin resigned one day after the Steelers’ season ended with a loss to the Houston Texans in an AFC Wild Card playoff game. He finished with a regular-season record of 193-114-2, tying Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the franchise wins record. Pittsburgh went 10-7 this season and won its first AFC North title since 2020.
McCarthy was a head coach with the Green Bay Packers for 13 seasons from 2006-18 and the Cowboys for five seasons from 2020-24. His record is 174-112-2 during the regular season.
Steeler Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Steelers. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.