Steelers Now
NFL analyst Stephen A. Smith thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers should have interviewed one of their former players for their head coach vacancy.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike McCarthy to be their next head coach in what many have described as a poor process. Those who believe that are not alone, either, as NFL analyst Stephen A. Smith thinks the team could have taken a look at one of its former players.
“I’m not joking about this. I’m dead serious. I believe that Ryan Clark should have been interviewed for the job,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “Phillip Rivers got interviewed by the Buffalo Bills. I’m just saying, you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers. What’s up? I know they love R.C. I know they know he’s a Steeler for life. I know they pick up the phone and call him and defer to him and ask him his advice. How come you can’t interview the brother?”
"I want to state for the record, and I'm not joking about this, I'm dead serious. I believe that Ryan Clark should've been interviewed for the [Pittsburgh Steelers head coaching] job."
– Stephen A. Smith believes his colleague deserved a call from the Steelers pic.twitter.com/L3znehJ9Cb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 26, 2026
Clark, 46, spent eight years of his NFL career, which started as an undrafted free agent out of the 2002 NFL Draft, with the Steelers.
During that span, he helped Pittsburgh reach two Super Bowls and win XLIII while recording 666 tackles, two sacks, three forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions and 43 passes defensed.
Clark hasn’t coached professionally since retiring at the end of the 2014 season, but he has clearly stayed in contact with the team while also sharing his thoughts as an NFL analyst for ESPN.
In fact, Clark believes the Steelers messed up by replacing Mike Tomlin with McCarthy.
“In one word, uninspiring,” Clark said on First Take. “Also I think they know that. The big thing with Mike McCarthy is he’s a proven winner. Could you imagine when Mike Tomlin steps away and here is the word, or the phrasing, I heard was used when Mike Tomlin stepped away from the team. It was like mourning at a funeral. That’s the way people have categorized the mood in the building when he walks away. It was like losing a family member.”
That’s not going to change this time around, but the 62-year-old McCarthy will unlikely be Pittsburgh’s head coach for a long time. Maybe Clark will get a look the next time the Steelers need a head coach.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Analyst Believes Ex-Steelers DB Should’ve Been Interviewed for HC Job
