The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering unfamiliar territory. For just the fourth time since 1969, the franchise is searching for a new head coach following Mike Tomlin’s decision to step down at age 53. Stability has long been the Steelers’ calling card. And that history may once again shape their next move.
Advertisement
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, one candidate fits the Steelers’ traditional profile almost too perfectly: Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula.
“Their pattern has been established,” Florio said. “Even though it’s only three hires, it’s a 57-year trend. Defensive coordinator. First-time head coach.”
That alone puts Shula firmly on Pittsburgh’s radar. But Florio believes the connection goes deeper than résumé symmetry.
Shula is the grandson of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, and the historical parallels are hard to ignore. Just 15 days before Chuck Noll became the Steelers’ head coach in 1969, he was coordinating the defense for the Baltimore Colts, a team coached by Don Shula, who had just lost Super Bowl III to the New York Jets. Shula recommended Noll for the Steelers job.
“There’s just a symmetry to all that,” Florio said on The Rich Eisen Show. “The Steelers have a sense of history and connections. It wouldn’t surprise me if Chris Shula ends up getting that job.”
That sense of lineage matters in Pittsburgh. This is an organization that values continuity, cultural alignment, and institutional memory as much as innovation. Shula checks those boxes while also representing the modern Sean McVay coaching tree, which continues to produce head-coaching candidates across the league. Still, Florio cautions that this search won’t be simple.
The NFL has changed dramatically since the Steelers hired Tomlin in 2007. The league now skews heavily toward offense, quarterback development, and player safety.
Since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled to find an identity, and the Steelers are not positioned to draft a clear-cut franchise quarterback anytime soon. That reality complicates the decision.
“Will the Steelers believe that their past formula of a defensive coach needs to yield to what the rest of the league is doing?” Florio asked. “They need to find a way to goose the offense.”
That question looms over every candidate, including Shula.
On the field, Shula’s credentials are strong. In his first season as Rams defensive coordinator, he took the lowest-paid defense in the NFL and turned it into a top-10 unit in points allowed and top-seven in EPA per play.
His defense is built on disguised coverages, five-man pressure packages, and positional versatility, including innovative use of the “star” role with Quentin Lake. In the divisional round, that scheme helped force Caleb Williams into the first three-interception game of his NFL career.
What remains unknown is Shula’s offensive philosophy and how he would build, or find, a quarterback. While he has learned under McVay, that side of the ball would be one of the biggest questions he’d face as a head coach.
The Steelers, meanwhile, are casting a wide net. They’ve already completed virtual interviews with Shula, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and others. In-person interviews have begun with candidates like Brian Flores, Mike McCarthy, and Anthony Weaver.
That abundance of options may actually make the process more stressful.
“When you have a lot of great choices and a lot of people who want that job, because it’s desirable and they don’t fire coaches, you ultimately have to make a decision,” Florio said. “And that adds even more pressure.”
In the end, the Steelers must decide whether to stay true to the formula that has defined them for nearly 60 years. Or adapt to a league that increasingly demands offensive vision.
