Former Steelers Star Takes Shot At Bengals While Praising Hiring of Domata Peko

CINCINNATI — Former Pittsburgh Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a big fan of his old team bringing former Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko onto their coaching staff.

Roethlisberger labeled Peko as a Bengal he faced in his career that played the right way compared to others. Peko previously spent 15 seasons in the league, 11 of those with the Cincinnati Bengals as a nose tackle from 2006-16.

Peko is the Steelers new defensive line coach after holding that role at Colorado last year. He earned his first coaching job in 2024, working with the Dallas Cowboys, who were then led by new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy.

"When you went to Cincinnati, you knew you're gonna be sore because of the cheap shots. This guy was not one," Roethlisberger said about Peko on his podcast "Footbahlin" this week. "This guy was a guy that you respected. He respected the game. He respected players. So I have a lot of respect for him. I think that's a great pickup for them. Anytime you can get a former player, sure, you know he's been coaching not as long, but you get a former player in there, he's going to show passion. So I think that's a huge hire."

Roethlisberger clearly still has some choice thoughts for how those games went down in the Bengals-Steelers rivalry. Dirty play accusations have been tossed from both sides in one of the more physical football rivalries in the sport.

The Bengals drafted Peko in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Michigan State.

He went on to play for the Broncos, Ravens, and Cardinals before retiring following the 2020 season.

Check out the full comments from Roethlisberger below:

Big Ben on the Steelers new defensive line coach Domata Peko who played for the Bengals:

"When you went to Cincinnati you knew were gonna be sore because of the cheap shots. This guy was not one. This guy was a guy that you respected. He respected the game he respected the… pic.twitter.com/N5yPlb1n3j
— Matthew Luciow (@matthewluciow92) February 4, 2026

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and watch the video below as part of our in-depth coverage of the team. Prefer to listen? Check out Cincinnati Bengals Talk on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts.

Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, insight, film breakdowns, and so much more! We'll have you covered all offseason long!

Also, check out the podcast, Locked On Bengals, wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple: bit.ly/BengalsApple

Spotify: bit.ly/BengalsSpotify

YouTube: bit.ly/LOBengalsYouTube

--- ---

Follow us on X: @BengalsTalkSI

Like Our Facebook Page

Follow on TikTok