Two linebackers who have led Auburn in tackles have joined NFL coaching staffs for 2024.

Daren Bates is on the first staff of Carolina coach Dave Canales as the special-teams assistant for the Panthers.

Josh Bynes will start his coaching career as the assistant linebackers coach for the Seattle Seahawks, reports indicated on Monday. Bynes is joining the first staff of Mike Macdonald, who was the linebacker’s position coach in 2019 and defensive coordinator in 2022 with the Baltimore Ravens.

This will be Bates’ second season as a coach. Last year, he worked with the Los Angeles Rams special teams in the offseason as a Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellow, then joined the Seattle Seahawks as an assistant coach. Seattle’s special-teams assistant in 2023, Tracy Smith is now the special-teams coordinator for Carolina.

Bynes was the leading tackler for the Auburn team that posted an undefeated record and won the BCS national championship for the 2010 season.

Bynes entered the NFL as undrafted rookie in 2011, but he went on to play in 138 regular-season and seven playoff games in 12 NFL seasons despite being released seven times.

Bynes made the final tackle in Baltimore’s 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII even though he suffered cracked vertebrae in training camp followed by his release before the 2012 season began. He wound up starting the final three regular-season contests with Baltimore star Ray Lewis sidelined by an injury.

Bates started his Auburn career as a safety and was a member of the Tigers’ 2010 national-championship team. He intercepted a pass in Auburn’s 56-17 victory over South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game that season. After moving to linebacker, Bates led the Tigers in tackles in 2011 and 2012.

Bates also entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie, but he played in 125 regular-season and seven playoff games in nine seasons. Bates got on the field for 130 defensive snaps and 2,778 special-teams plays in his regular-season appearances.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.