Trevor Deshea Townsend (born September 8, 1975) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who currently is the defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for the

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of the

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(NFL). He previously worked as an assistant coach for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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, New York Giants,

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, and

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. Townsend played

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for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the

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in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 1998 NFL draft, where he spent his entire career, besides his final year with the

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Early life

A native of Batesville, Mississippi, Townsend played high school football for the South Panola Tigers, where he was the teammate of fellow future Alabama Crimson Tide star Dwayne Rudd. Townsend played quarterback at South Panola and led the team to the 1993 Mississippi State 5A championship and an undefeated 15–0 record.

Playing career

College

Along with Rudd, Townsend continued his career in college at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

where both became members of the Theta Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, in 1995. He majored in business management. He had seven career interceptions at Alabama. In 1995 at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Townsend returned a blocked field goal attempt 90 yards for a touchdown in a 31–0 win. Townsend was named All-SEC in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, 1996, and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

National Football League

Pittsburgh Steelers

The

selected Townsend in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 1998 NFL draft. He was the 14th cornerback drafted in 1998. Townsend grew from a special teams player and nickelback (and initially known in Pittsburgh as the first player to wear Rod Woodson's number 26 after left the Steelers), into a solid starter for the

. Townsend was known for his outside speed as a pass rusher. Townsend has recorded 322 tackles, 15.5 quarterback sacks and 18 interceptions during his twelve years as a Steeler. He also had a key sack on

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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Matt Hasselbeck during the final minutes of Super Bowl XL, which helped secure the Steelers eventual victory. On March 23, 2002, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Townsend to a four-year, $4.20 million contract as an unrestricted free agent that included a signing bonus of $1 million. He visited with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during free agency and his agent was also contacted by the

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, and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. On March 17, 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Townsend to a four-year, $8 million contract that included a signing bonus of $2 million. He received the contract offer during a visit with the

. During the 2008 season, Townsend accepted the reduced role from starting cornerback to the nickel package.

Indianapolis Colts

In August 2010, Townsend joined the

. On November 9, 2010, he was waived by the Colts. For the season, Townsend played in eight Colts games with no starts, and totaled 10 tackles and no interceptions or sacks.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

Arizona Cardinals

On February 10, 2011, Townsend was hired as assistant defensive backs coach of the

, joining former coach Ray Horton who was named defensive coordinator. He was released alongside head coach Ken Whisenhunt at the end of the 2012 season.

Mississippi State

In January 2013, Townsend was hired as cornerbacks coach at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. Under his coaching, defensive back Nickoe Whitley recorded 5 interceptions, 2nd-best in the SEC, Jamerson Love ranked 2nd in interception return touchdowns, and Taveze Calhoun ranked 2nd in interception return yards. Whitley would be named All-SEC.

Tennessee Titans

On January 26, 2016, Townsend was named the defensive backs coach of the

, joining his former defensive coordinator when he was a player, Dick LeBeau from the Steelers during 2004–09. Under his coaching, safety Kevin Byard led the NFL in interceptions, make the 2018 Pro Bowl, and was named first-team All-Pro.

New York Giants

On February 6, 2018, Townsend was named the assistant defensive backs coach for the New York Giants. Under his coaching, cornerback Janoris Jenkins ranked 5th in passes defended and safety Landon Collins made the Pro Bowl.

Chicago Bears

On January 18, 2019, Townsend was named the defensive backs coach for the

, a position that was eventually renamed to secondary coach. Under his coaching, Kyle Fuller made the Pro Bowl.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 17, 2022, Townsend was hired by the

as their passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach under head coach Doug Pederson. He was let go of his duties and fired on January 8, 2024.

Detroit Lions

On February 21, 2024, Townsend was hired by the

as their passing game coordinator and Defensive backs coach under head coach Dan Campbell.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars profileESPN.com Deshea Townsend player cardThe Deshea Townsend Show
on KDKA/CW {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Deshea 1975 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football cornerbacks Arizona Cardinals coaches Chicago Bears coaches Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches New York Giants coaches Sportspeople from Batesville, Mississippi Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Mississippi Tennessee Titans coaches African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Coaches of American football from Mississippi