Steelers Now
NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky had high praise for current Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator and Steelers head-coaching candidate Anthony Weaver.
Despite Weaver’s unit ranking 22nd in yards allowed per game, he remains one of the top candidates in the 2025 coaching cycle. Context matters here, as Miami consistently competed on a weekly basis even without elite defensive talent.
“Sign me up for Weaver in Pittsburgh,” Orlovsky said on ESPN on Thursday. “Sign me up. I am huge Weaver guy. I always look at coaches and say, almost like quarterbacks, do they take a bad roster and make them competent or do you take a good roster and give us a chance to win a championship? I think he was part of a lesser-talented roster in Miami. They fought every single week and played at a good level. Sign me up for that in Pittsburgh.”
"Sign me up for Weaver in Pittsburgh!"@danorlovsky7 tells @PSchrags why he thinks Anthony Weaver is a perfect fit for the Steelers' head coaching position 💪 pic.twitter.com/3OzWNPrPlF
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 22, 2026
There is also a clear trend emerging in Pittsburgh’s search. Many of the candidates the Steelers have interviewed lean defensive in background, including Weaver. The team has also spoken with Brian Flores and is reportedly awaiting an interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Names like Jesse Minter and others have already gotten head coaching jobs elsewhere, so the steelers search is getting down to the wire.
If Pittsburgh were to land Weaver, he would once again inherit one of the highest-paid defenses in the NFL, an arrangement that naturally comes with expectations. That dynamic was a major point of criticism for Steelers fans during the Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin era, where resources did not always translate to dominant results.
While Weaver is undeniably a strong candidate, one of the primary critiques of Tomlin has been the lack of a true coaching tree, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. For many, that issue is closely tied to concerns about modern offensive philosophy and quarterback development. Given that Weaver also comes from a defensive-first lineage, it’s fair to question how drastic of a philosophical shift this hire would represent.
Overall, the topic remains polarizing. Anytime a head coach as tenured as Tomlin faces potential replacement, the noise is inevitable. Whether it’s Shula, Weaver, or another candidate entirely, it will be fascinating to see which direction the Steelers choose, and what that decision ultimately signals about the future of the franchise.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: National Analyst Urges Steelers to Hire Anthony Weaver: ‘Sign Me Up’
