Larry Zierlein Larry Zierlein ( born July 12 , 1945 in Norton , Kansas ) is a long - time American football coach at high school , college , and currently Assistant Line Coach for the NFL Arizona Cardinals . Biography . Zierlein grew up in Lenora , Kansas . After spending two years in the Marines from 1966 – 1968 , including a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1967 , he attended Fort Hays State College . He played defensive end for Fort Hays State in 1969 before graduating in 1971 . Coaching career . Zierlein embarked on his coaching career as a graduate assistant and linebackers coach at his alma mater in 1970 . After two years coaching at Fort Hays State , he spent the following six seasons ( 1972 – 1977 ) as a high school assistant in Texas . In 1978 he returned to the college game at the University of Houston where he served as offensive line coach for nine seasons . In 1987 he got his first professional experience as an assistant with the Washington Commandos of the Arena Football League . When the Commandos went on hiatus the next year , Zierlein took a job at Tulane where he worked the next three seasons before returning to the pro ranks with the New York / New Jersey Knights of the National Football League ' s development league , the World League of American Football . With the Knights he held the title of offensive coordinator under Mouse Davis as well as coaching the offensive line . When the Knights folded in 1992 , Zierlein once more headed back to college , this time at LSU . Zierlein spent two years at LSU , coaching the offensive line under head coach Curley Hallman . In 1995 he returned to Tulane , this time for what would be a two year stint under Tommy Bowden . In 1997 he moved on to the University of Cincinnati as the running game coordinator and offensive line coach under Rick Minter . In 2001 , Zierlein gained his first NFL experience with the Cleveland Browns . He served for four seasons as the Brown ' s o - line coach under the Butch Davis regime . Zierlein ' s current Steelers colleague Bruce Arians served as the offensive coordinator for the first three of Zierlein ' s seasons at Clevelend . He returned from a one year absence from football in 2006 as the assistant o - line coach for the Buffalo Bills under Dick Jauron . When Mike Tomlin was hired as the Pittsburgh Steelers new head coach in 2007 , he brought Zierlein to Pittsburgh to coach the offensive line . Tomlin and Zierlein had previously worked together in 1999 – 2000 with the Cincinnati Bearcats . Steelers assistant special teams coach Amos Jones was also a member of that Bearcats coaching staff . Zierlein was relieved of his duties with the Steelers on January 6 , 2010 . E - mail gaffe . Zierlein gained unwanted notoriety in 2007 when he mistakenly forwarded an inappropriate e - mail to a large number of high - level NFL employees , including commissioner Roger Goodell . The e - mail , which Zierlein had received from Steelers pro personnel coordinator Doug Whaley contained a pornographic video . Zierlein apologized for the gaffe , but was not disciplined by the team or the league . Personal . Zierlein and his wife , Marcia , have three children and several grandchildren . Their son , Lance , is a sports talk radio host at Houston ' s " Sports talk 790 " and a blogger for the Houston Chronicle . Their son Mike ( Lance ' s brother ) is now the Head Football Coach at Clear Falls High School in League City , Texas .