Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers are searching for a new coach after the resignation of Mike Tomlin after 19 seasons on Tuesday.
As Art Rooney II began his first coaching search as the team’s principle owner, one of the hot-button questions was how devoted he would be to hiring within the clearly defined type the Steelers had established with their last three head coaches.
Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin — the first two in the Hall of Fame, the third likely on the way, all Super Bowl winners — all had a lot in common before they became the Steelers’ head coach.
All three were young. Noll was 37. Cowher was 34. So wast Tomlin. All three were first-time head coaches. All three had previously been NFL coordinators. And all three coached on the defensive side of the ball.
So Rooney was asked, obviously, if he would restrict his search to simply those candidates that met the established criteria. After all — who can argue with that amount of success?
He said that he would keep an open mind about what kind of coach the Steelers should be hiring.
“For now, I don’t want to put any real parameters around it,” Rooney said. We’re going to be an open book in terms of who we look for and the list that we build. Can I sign up for another Chuck Noll, or another Bill Cowher, or another Mike Tomlin? Sure, somebody that we feel fits that mold would be great. But for now, we’re not going to kind of narrow the box too much.”
Since then, the Steelers have identified eight candidates. Seven of them would be first-time NFL head coaches. Six of them are current NFL defensive coordinators. Three are in their thirties. One — Chris Shula of the Los Angeles Rams — seems to check every box. That’s probably why he’s the betting favorite to land the job.
But there has been a bit of undercurrent of consternation with that notion from some corners of the Steelers fanbase. Yes, the Steelers have had a ton of success in plucking young defensive coordinators to lead their squad over the years. But as the NFL has become more and more offense-driven, is that still wise in 2026?
Tomlin had a Hall of Fame career, but the end of the road was not his best work, with the Steelers winning more than 10 games just once over his final seven seasons. That time period coincided with an arm injury to Ben Roethlisberger, and then the franchise misfiring on several attempts to replace him at quarterback.
Tomlin’s final years were marred by the likes of Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Russell Wilson and the 42-year-old remnants of Aaron Rodgers at the quarterback position. And even worse was the collection of offensive coordinators that guided them. Randy Fichtner and Matt Canada never called another play in the league after leaving the Steelers.
At the same time, certain teams have seemingly unlocked some...
