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Mike Tomlin Says Keith Butler Was First Defensive Coaching Mentor At Memphis: ‘That Was The Beginnings Of It For Me’

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is pretty much universally regarded as a defensive coach. His first job in the NFL was as a defensive backs coach, and when he got the job in Pittsburgh, he was coming off a season as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.

Fans also know, however, that he was a wide receiver at William & Mary. His first coaching job was as a wide receivers coach at the Virginia Military Institute in 1995 the year after his college playing career ended. The next year, he took a graduate assistant job at Memphis in 1996.