Coaching Candidate Profile: Robert Steeples

A look at the resume for Robert Steeples, a candidate for Notre Dame's cornerbacks coach position

There have been four different names associated with the defensive assistant coach opening, and the field had been narrowed down to three recently. One candidate is arguably the most intriguing, and that is current St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet Jesuit head coach Robert Steeples.

Steeples certainly doesn’t have what one would consider a conventional resume for someone being looked at for a full-time coaching position at Notre Dame. He’s been a coach for just four seasons, and none are at the college level. On the surface it’s not a resume that is overly impressive when you compare it to other coaches being hired by big-time programs this offseason.

If you’re willing to look past the surface level you’ll quickly see that Steeples is a gifted young coach and teacher that’s been pursued by Power 5 programs in the past, and for good reason. If you want to use recruiting terms, he’s a high-upside candidate for the position.

Steeples began his playing career at Missouri, where he played in 36 games from 2009-11, registering 40 tackles, five pass break ups and an interception. He transferred to Memphis for his final season (2012), and made 42 tackles and broke up five passes in his final season.

Steeples spent parts of three seasons in the NFL as part of the St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. During those offseasons, Steeples volunteered his time working with high school athletes, which made the transition into full-time coaching a natural one.

He was immediately hired as the head coach at De Smet, a program that had gone 2-18 in the two years prior to his arrival. Steeples didn’t have a normal resume for that position either, having never coached prior to taking over for the 2016 season. By his fourth season, Steeples had built De Smet into a state champion, with the Spartans going 14-0, beating Joplin in the state title game.

De Smet went 23-3 in his final two seasons, but the strides made on defense were incredible.

The Spartans gave up 51.2 points per game in the season prior to Steeples taking over. That’s not a misprint, they gave up an average of 51.2 points per game. Steeples was heavily involved with the Spartan defense, as both the secondary coach and defensive coordinator, and by his fourth season the unit had improved to the point where it gave up just 8.6 points per game during its perfect 2019 season.

De Smet gave up just 17.4 points per game in 2018, but it gave up an average of 56.0 points per game in two losses to Christian Brothers. The Spartans again played Christian Brothers twice in 2019, but this time De Smet held them to an average of 14.0 points per game, outscoring CBC 77-28. De Smet gave up seven or fewer points in nine games, which included four shut outs. That includes a 37-0 victory over Raymore-Peculiar in the state semi-final game.

In the state title game, De Smet held state player of the year Isaiah Davis to just 91 rushing yards on 32 carries.

Steeples helped develop 2021 cornerback Jakailin Johnson into one of the nation’s best players. After picking off seven passes as a junior, Johnson is now ranked as a consensus Top 100 recruit. The 30-year old Steeples was also the head coach for Notre Dame 2020 signee Jordan Johnson, one of the top wide receivers in the nation. But Johnson was asked to play some cornerback as a senior, and if you go back and watch the film the future Irish pass catcher played quite well at corner.

De Smet’s brilliant season and the defense Steeples built ended with him earning national coach of the year honors from the All-American Bowl.

Steeples obviously has no direct recruiting experience, but his intelligence, personality and proven ability to connect with and coach high school players at De Smet leads me to believe it will quickly become a strength of his should he ever take a college job.

Should Notre Dame decide to hire Steeples there would certainly be a bit of risk considering his lack of college coaching experience. But when the Irish hired Clark Lea to run its defense despite him having no coordinator experience my response was simply, if you have the chops, you have the chops. From everything I can see and evaluate, Steeples has the chops.