LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Chargers have added another branch to the growing Pittsburgh Steelers coaching tree. The team officially hired former Steelers linebacker Sean Spence as their new inside linebackers coach on Saturday, per insider Jordan Schultz. Spence makes the jump to the NFL after spending the 2025 season as the EDGEs coach for Western Michigan.
From the MAC to the NFL
Spence’s rise through the coaching ranks has been rapid. After cutting his teeth in the collegiate game, most recently in Kalamazoo with Western Michigan, he now takes over a Chargers linebacker room looking for stability. His specific role as inside linebackers coach places him directly in charge of the defense’s quarterbacks—a fitting role for a player known for his high football IQ during his playing days.
A Career Defined by Resilience
Spence’s path to an NFL coaching gig mirrors the grit he showed as a player. Selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft (No. 86 overall) out of Miami, his career was nearly over before it began. A catastrophic knee injury wiped out his entire rookie season, and a subsequent finger injury sidelined him for all of 2013.
Despite the setbacks, Spence returned to make his regular-season debut in 2014. He became a key rotational piece for Pittsburgh, logging 31 appearances and 90 tackles through the 2015 campaign. After stints with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts—including a brief reunion with Pittsburgh in late 2017—he hung up his cleats and turned his focus to coaching.
The Steelers’ Coaching Pipeline
Spence isn’t the only former Steeler making waves on NFL sidelines this offseason. The league is currently peppered with former Pittsburgh players in prominent roles:
- Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots): The former linebacker is fresh off a Super Bowl LX appearance in his first year as New England’s head coach, falling just short against the Seattle Seahawks.
- Antwaan Randle El (Chicago Bears): The Super Bowl XL hero continues his ascent, serving as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach in Chicago after a successful run in Detroit.
- Duce Staley (Cleveland Browns): Staley returns to Cleveland as running backs coach for the 2026 season under new head coach Todd Monken.
- Alex Van Pelt (Atlanta Falcons): The veteran coach lands in Atlanta as quarterbacks coach after calling plays for New England in 2024.
- Karl Dunbar (New York Jets): A long-time Steelers defensive line coach, Dunbar departed Pittsburgh following Mike Tomlin’s resignation and will now lead the Jets’ defensive front.
“When you go through what Sean went through—the knee, the rehab, the doubt—you learn the game from a different perspective. He didn’t just play linebacker; he studied it to survive. That room in LA is getting a teacher.”
— Unnamed NFC Executive
What This Means for the Chargers
Hiring Spence signals a focus on technical development for Los Angeles. The Chargers are likely banking on Spence’s ability to translate his own technical recovery—learning to play effectively after a major injury—into teaching points for their young linebackers. If he can instill the same gap discipline and resilience he played with, the Chargers’ run defense could see immediate improvement in 2026.
