Former National Football League (NFL) player LaRod Stephens-Howling enters his first season on the Robert Morris University football coaching staff head coach John Banaszak announced Thursday. Stephens-Howling will coach the RMU running backs.
“Having LaRod fill the running backs coaching position, I think we have added a vital piece to our coaching staff in a guy that has an awful lot of experience at all levels,” said Banaszak. “His experience in the NFL for five seasons is a definite plus for us and gives our running backs a chance to understand what it takes to be the best they can be.”
It is a return, of sorts, for Stephens-Howling to the RMU campus. In 2016, the Johnstown, Pa., native, spent five months on the Colonials staff as a volunteer running backs coach. He provided assistance to the offensive coordinator and running backs coach in the spring and summer while preparing the squad for its spring game.
Most recently, Stephens-Howling was a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh where helped in recruiting and operations. In his role there, he helped in both scouting and recruiting, evaluating talent and setting up various recruiting events.
Stephens-Howling was drafted in the seventh round, 240th overall, by the Arizona Cardinals in 2009 as a running back and kick returner and would earn NFL All-Rookie Team accolades that season. He spent four years with the Cardinals where he played under the watchful eye of current RMU offensive coordinator Mike Miller, who was member of the Arizona coaching staff from 2007-2012
In four seasons with Arizona, Stephens-Howling made 10 starts and played in 51 games as both a runner and kick returner. He carried for 670 yards and five touchdowns averaging 3.6 yards per carry. The dual threat caught 58 passes for 545 yards and three scores, including the first of his career – a 14-yard effort from Kurt Warner. His versatility in 2009 earned him NFL All-Rookie Team accolades.
As a specialist, he averaged 25.0 yards per return for his career and scored three times. He had a career long 102-yard return against the Oakland Raiders in 2010. Stephens-Howling finished with 164 returns and 4,092 yards. He led the NFL in kick-off return yard with 1,548 in 2010. He fumbled just one time in 410 career touches before finishing his career with his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, signing a one-year contract with the team in 2013.
Stephens-Howling played his collegiate football at the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice in 2010. He was a decorated athlete for the Panthers, earning the Pitt Iron Man Award and Demale Stanley Award in 2008 and the David Sandberg Champion Award and the Division I Sportsmanship Award in 2009.
He led Pitt in rushing as both a freshman and a sophomore, carrying for 434 yards as a freshman and 893 as a sophomore. That sophomore campaign featured a 221-yard performance that earned him Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors. He finished his career just shy of 2,000 yards, toting the rock 429 times for 1,959 yards and 15 scores. Stephens-Howling also hauled in 52 receptions for 454 yards and returned 34 kickoffs for an average of 22.8 yards.
