Denzel Martin is in his third season as Pittsburgh's outside linebackers coach after previously serving three seasons as the assistant outside linebackers coach (2020-22), two seasons as a coaching assistant (2018-19) and two more as the Steelers' scouting assistant (2016-17).
In 2024, T.J. Watt was voted the team MVP for a team-record fifth time after a season in which he had 61 tackles, including 19 for a loss, 11.5 sacks, a league-high six forced fumbles, 27 quarterback hits and four pass defenses. He also was named second-team All-Pro and is a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2023, Watt became the first player since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, to lead the League in sacks three times (2020, 2021 and 2023). He surpassed his brother J.J. Watt, Reggie White, DeMarcus Ware, Michael Strahan, Kevin Greene, Mark Gastineau and Jared Allen, who each led the League in sacks twice.
Watt, who garnered AP First Team All-Pro honors for the fourth time in his seven year career, was selected by the NFL Committee of 101 as the 2023 AFC Defensive Player of the Year. He has now captured the award three times in the last four years (2020, 2021 and 2023).
Watt, defensive end Alan Page (three), defensive tackle Reggie White (three), linebacker Ray Lewis (three), defensive end Bruce Smith (three), Aaron Donald (four) and J.J. Watt (four) are the only players to earn the award at least three times in either conference since the inaugural event in 1969.
In his third season as the assistant outside linebackers coach in 2022, Martin worked with a Steelers defense that consistently improved over the course of the year, holding opponents to 17 points or less through its final seven games. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Watt and Cameron Heyward were named to the 2023 Pro Bowl Games for their efforts.
With Martin's assistance, Watt became the NFL's 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, tallying a career-high 22.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles.
In 2020, Martin assisted with one of the top pass-rushing units in the NFL, which included the tandem of Watt and Bud Dupree, who combined for 23.0 sacks, 56 quarterback hits and 31 tackles for loss.
As a coaching assistant, Martin handled the daily operations for defense and worked with the team's defensive line and outside linebackers in 2019, after assisting with the unit's middle linebackers in 2018.
Prior to joining the Steelers in 2016, Martin spent a year as a recruiting graduate assistant at the University of Missouri in 2015, where he played linebacker from 2010-14. Martin, a native of St. Louis, Mo., received a degree in multidisciplinary studies in 2014 and a master's in education with an emphasis in positive coaching from Missouri in 2015.
