Jason Simmons looked right at home standing on the indoor practice field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
And there is a good reason for it.
He is back home.
Simmons, the Steelers defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach, was drafted by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, spending four seasons with the team.
"Spending four years here, it was amazing," said Simmons. "It kind of built my career in terms of what I became as a player and a coach. The love of the game. Being back...especially just loving the people of Pittsburgh."
Simmons credited some of his veteran teammates with the Steelers early in his career as being people who helped him get on the path toward coaching.
"The veteran leadership when I was here was unbelievable," said Simmons. "You talk about guys on the offensive side like Jerome Bettis, and Levon Kirkland on defense, and (Carnell) Lake, and Darren Perry. The veterans helped you understand the structure of defense and how it was put together and what everybody did, along with all the great coaches that we had."
Simmons welcomes the fact that while there has been change since he was last with the Steelers, there are familiar faces still in the building and that breeds one goal.
"It's just the building," said Simmons. "You talk about the people in the building. There are still people in the building, from the cafeteria, from secretaries, to the front office, people that are Steelers people.
"Everybody in the building plays with one scoreboard. Everybody's playing, everybody's on the same page, and it's all about winning."
And winning is a part of the tradition Simmons understands. He knows about the Steel Curtain defense from the 1970s, a reputation defensive coordinator Patrick Graham would like to earn for the current unit.
Simmons also knows other Steelers traditions and can pass those along to the players he coaches.
"My role in passing on the tradition, it's about keeping football first," said Simmons. "That's what this place is. It's not about the glitz and glam. It's about ball. It's competing. It's all about communication. It's about accountability and keeping that first.
"That's my part of this tradition."
And he feels confident the roster is filled with players who will help uphold Steelers traditions.
"When you have that type of leadership, the unselfishness from guys at the top," said Simmons. "Guys that have been here well over a decade and they embrace being here in OTAs. They embrace the brotherhood, forming a new brotherhood and starting it every year. That can only help you and the young guys see it."
Another part of that tradition is the defense Simmons played in. He was in a 3-4 defense under Coach Bill Cowher and defensive coordinator Dom Capers, and Coach Mike McCarthy said from the get-go it's a defense he embraces.
"The history of the Steelers defense and staying with the 3-4 is important as far as the origin of it, and that's something we can build off," McCarthy said during his introductory press conference in January.
Simmons said there is one way to make the 3-4 defense work for them.
"The keys to it are the people," said Simmons. "There's no secret. The secret sauce is the players. We know it, we understand it, we put the best players in the position to make plays. You have those outside linebackers, we have multiple guys that can make plays, they have the ability to rush, they have ability to drop. That allows you to be multiple, as Patrick Graham will be as the defensive coordinator.
"The players are always the key, not just the outside backers, it's also that front as well. They've always had the best nose tackles here as well. So, we just talk about those key pieces, we have those elements to play the defense here."
Some of the players Simmons has to work with in the secondary include household names like Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Brandin Echols, Jamel Dean just to name a few.
It goes beyond that, though.
"I really like the depth," said Simmons. "When you're a coach, we don't have guys that are backups. We don't have first group here, second group there.
"We realize that we have multiple starters in the second and we're going to allow those guys to compete. That's what football is about. That's what Pittsburgh is about. It's about allowing those guys to compete and compete for playing time.
"As a coach, when you have four or five guys that have the ability to go out there and start, it makes your job a lot easier."
He uses a theory he had when he was a player of knowing your role, and understanding every role is important.
"The thing about me, and the thing that I feel I can bring to this group is knowing your role, knowing who you are and embracing your role," said Simmons. "I think that's what allowed me to play 10 years in this league. It wasn't athleticism. It wasn't stature. It wasn't any of those things. It was knowing your role, embracing your role, and then being able to make the people around you better if you're not the star."
