Trevor Deshea Townsend (born September 8, 1975) is an American professionalfootball coach and formercornerback who currently is thedefensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL). He previously worked as an assistant coach for theJacksonville Jaguars,Chicago Bears,New York Giants,Tennessee Titans, andArizona Cardinals.

Deshea Townsend

Townsend (left) with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007
Detroit Lions
Position:	Defensive passing game coordinator & defensive back coach
Personal information
Born:	(1975-09-08)September 8, 1975 (age 49) Batesville, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:	South Panola (Batesville, Mississippi)
College:	Alabama
NFL draft:	1998: 4th round, 117th pick
Career history
As a player:
Pittsburgh Steelers (1998–2009) Indianapolis Colts (2010)
As a coach:
Arizona Cardinals (2011–2012) Assistant defensive backs coach Mississippi State (2013–2015) Cornerbacks coach Tennessee Titans (2016–2017) Defensive backs coach New York Giants (2018) Assistant defensive backs coach Chicago Bears (2019–2021) Secondary coach Jacksonville Jaguars (2022–2023) Passing game coordinator & cornerbacks coach Detroit Lions (2024–present) Passing game coordinator & defensive backs coach
Career highlights and awards
2×Super Bowl champion (XL,XLIII) First-teamAll-SEC (1996) 2× Second-team All-SEC (1995,1997)
Career NFL statistics
Totaltackles: 470 Sacks: 15.5 Forcedfumbles: 5 Fumble recoveries: 4 Interceptions: 21 Defensivetouchdowns: 3 Stats atPro Football Reference

Townsend playedcollege football for theAlabama Crimson Tide and was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (117th overall) in the1998 NFL draft, where he spent his entire career, besides his final year with theIndianapolis Colts.

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

Along with Rudd, Townsend continued his career in college at theUniversity of Alabama where both became members of the Theta Delta Chapter of thePhi Beta Sigma fraternity, in 1995. He majored in business management.

He had seven career interceptions at Alabama. In 1995 atGeorgia, Townsend returned a blocked field goal attempt 90 yards for a touchdown in a 31–0 win.

Townsend was named All-SEC in1995,1996, and1997.

ThePittsburgh Steelers selected Townsend in the fourth round (117th overall) of the1998 NFL draft. He was the 14th cornerback drafted in 1998.^[1]

Townsend grew from aspecial teams player and nickelback (and initially known in Pittsburgh as the first player to wearRod Woodson's number 26 after left the Steelers), into a solid starter for thePittsburgh Steelers atcornerback. 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 onSeattlequarterbackMatt Hasselbeck during the final minutes ofSuper 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 theTampa Bay Buccaneers during free agency and his agent was also contacted by theNew England Patriots,Houston Texans, andAtlanta Falcons.^[2]

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 theNew England Patriots.^[3]

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

In August 2010, Townsend joined theIndianapolis Colts.^[4] 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.

On February 10, 2011, Townsend was hired as assistant defensive backs coach of theArizona Cardinals, joining former coachRay Horton who was named defensive coordinator.^[5] He was released alongside head coachKen Whisenhunt at the end of the 2012 season.

In January 2013, Townsend was hired as cornerbacks coach atMississippi State University.^[6] Under his coaching, defensive backNickoe Whitley recorded 5 interceptions, 2nd-best in the SEC,Jamerson Love ranked 2nd in interception return touchdowns, andTaveze Calhoun ranked 2nd in interception return yards.^[7] Whitley would be namedAll-SEC.

On January 26, 2016, Townsend was named the defensive backs coach of theTennessee Titans, joining his former defensive coordinator when he was a player,Dick LeBeau from the Steelers during 2004–09.^[8] Under his coaching, safetyKevin Byard led the NFL in interceptions, make the 2018 Pro Bowl, and was named first-team All-Pro.^[9][10]

On February 6, 2018, Townsend was named the assistant defensive backs coach for theNew York Giants.^[11] Under his coaching, cornerbackJanoris Jenkins ranked 5th in passes defended and safetyLandon Collins made the Pro Bowl.^[12][13]

On January 18, 2019, Townsend was named the defensive backs coach for theChicago Bears,^[14] a position that was eventually renamed to secondary coach.^[15] Under his coaching,Kyle Fuller made the Pro Bowl.^[16]

On February 17, 2022, Townsend was hired by theJacksonville Jaguars as their passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach under head coachDoug Pederson.^[17] He was let go of his duties and fired on January 8, 2024.^[18]

On February 21, 2024, Townsend was hired by theDetroit Lions as their passing game coordinator and Defensive backs coach under head coachDan Campbell.^[19]

• Jacksonville Jaguars profile
• ESPN.com Deshea Townsend player card
• The Deshea Townsend Show on KDKA/CW