Shawn Howe departs Montana State for Steelers, intensifying coaching turnover

Shawn Howe is leaving Montana State to join the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff, the Bobcats announced on Feb. 4, 2026. The move removes the architect of Montana State's recent defenses just months after the Bobcats captured the FCS national championship and amid a flurry of other staff departures that have reshaped the Bozeman staff.

Howe spent the last five seasons in Bozeman, joining Montana State in 2021 as defensive line coach and defensive run-game coordinator. Head coach Brent Vigen promoted Howe to co-defensive coordinator in 2024 and to solo defensive coordinator for the 2025 title run. Under Howe’s direction the Bobcats posted a school-record 15 wins in 2024 and reached the FCS title game, then won the 2025 national championship behind a defense that ranked 15th in the FCS in scoring defense at 19.0 points per game and 20th in total defense at 328.8 yards per game. Montana State also tied for third nationally with 27 takeaways in 2025 and led the Big Sky in sacks in 2024 at 2.1 per game.

Those team metrics came alongside the development of several high-level players. Howe coached All-Americans Paul Brott, Kenneth Eiden IV, Brody Grebe, Daniel Hardy and Chase Benson during his tenure in Bozeman, creating a track record of producing NFL-ready front-seven talent that likely attracted pro interest.

Montana State’s announcement included a social-media farewell from Howe thanking Vigen, the Bobcats’ players and fans; Howe posted the note on X under the handle @COACHHOWE. Multiple reports linked Howe to work with rush ends and outside linebackers on Pittsburgh’s staff, though the Steelers had not officially announced his hire at the time of the Montana State release and local coverage in Pittsburgh raised conflicting notes about whether C.J. Ah You or Howe would handle the outside linebackers role and whether Howe would replace longtime assistant Denzel Martin.

Howe’s résumé is extensive and national in scope. After finishing his playing career as a defensive end at Rocky Mountain College, Howe worked stops at North Carolina State, Memphis, Tennessee, USC, Humboldt State, Dixie State and Coastal Carolina before returning to USC as a defensive analyst and ultimately landing at Montana State in 2021. That background, and Montana State’s recent defensive resume, underscores why NFL clubs saw Howe as a potential fit for pro edge development.

The loss intensifies a larger turnover trend in Bozeman. Cornerbacks coach Trenton Greene departed to become defensive coordinator at Northern Arizona, and assistant defensive backs coach Kiante Goudeau left for Portland State. Montana State has already hired Jordan Lee as cornerbacks coach, and other shifts noted in local reporting suggest a staff in transition.

For Bobcats fans the immediate questions are practical: who will run the defense in spring drills and how will Montana State maintain its edge-rushing and turnover production without Howe? For the program and broader FCS landscape, Howe’s jump to the NFL highlights the growing pipeline from successful FCS staffs to pro opportunities and the competitive challenge of retaining coordinators when NFL interest arrives. The next moves, Pittsburgh’s confirmation of Howe’s exact role and Montana State’s choice for defensive coordinator, will shape both the Bobcats’ offseason and the broader coaching carousel.