Austin was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh from 1984 to 1987, where he was a four-year letterman and three-year starter. He played in the 1984 Fiesta Bowl and the 1987 Bluebonnet Bowl. Austin played one season with the Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football in 1991. Austin then began a career in coaching, landing a position as a graduate assistant at Penn State in 1991. In 1993, he accompanied fellow Penn State assistant Jim Caldwell to Wake Forest where he served as secondary coach. Austin went on to serve on the coaching staffs at Syracuse and Michigan before joining the Seattle Seahawks' staff in 2003, helping Seattle advance to Super Bowl XL in 2006. He joined the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff as coach of defensive backs in 2007. In 2009, he helped the team reach Super Bowl XLIII, where the Cardinals would lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. On February 12, 2010, it was announced that Austin had been hired as the defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators. His tenure as defensive coordinator ended following the Gators' 37–24 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2011 Outback Bowl, and head coach Urban Meyer's resignation in December 2010. On January 26, 2011, it was announced that Austin had been hired as the secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens, and helped lead them to a Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. On January 16, 2014, it was announced that Austin had been hired as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. On January 11, 2018, it was announced that Austin had been hired as the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals. On November 12, 2018, Teryl Austin was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator after the Bengals defense became the first in NFL history to give up 500+ yards in 3 straight games, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New Orleans Saints, respectively. On January 8, 2019 it was announced that Austin had been hired as the Senior Defensive Assistant/Secondary for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
