Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a type. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio expects team president Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan to keep with that trend, as far as how young they’ll want their next head coach to be.
Each of the Steelers’ last four head coaching hires had yet to blow out the candles on their 38th birthday cake. Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher were both 34 when they took the job, while Chuck Noll and Bill Austin were each 37. It’s something the Steelers have become known for.
“That’s their thing. That’s the jacket in high school that somebody complimented, so they won’t stop wearing the damn thing,” Florio said during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday. “That’s the thing that makes them different from other franchises. So I think they’re gonna want someone, if they can find someone in his 30s, and at the oldest, early 40s, because they’re gonna want someone that can be there 20 years.”
Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, the Steelers’ first interview request, is 35. However, Florio said that youth can’t be the deciding factor in the Steelers’ choice.
“The NFL has a very real ageism problem,” Florio said. “No one ever says anything about it, nobody ever does anything about it, but you’ll hear things like, ‘It’s a young man’s game.’ Well, you can’t consider a guy’s age for any job. After the age of 40, you’re protected until you turn 75. That’s a 35-year window. You can’t say, ‘Alright, we’ve got two finalists here. We’re taking the young guy.'”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Insider: Steelers Next Head Coaching Move Feels Predictable
