The Pittsburgh Steelers are not used to this. They simply do not conduct head coaching searches very often. Once in a generation, if that. But now, they find themselves in one of those rare searches after Mike Tomlin stepped down following a 19-year run. Fortunately for the franchise, Steelers legend “Big” Ben Roethlisberger is here to lend a hand.
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Well, maybe more of an idea than a hand. This is not a Troy Aikman-in-Miami situation. Roethlisberger is just a podcaster now, so he does not know much more about how things are in Steel City than the rest of us. And so far, it has not unfolded much at all. The only candidate the Steelers have interviewed, Jeff Hafley, has already taken the Miami Dolphins head coaching job.
The Steelers have two more interviews scheduled for this weekend and have requested meetings with four other candidates. That is the extent of their activity eight days after Tomlin stepped down. With six of their seven known candidates coming from a defensive coordinator background, one thing is clear: they are not prioritizing an offensive-minded coach. However, Big Ben believes a “Ben Johnson type” is exactly what Steel City needs.
“My first thought is I want an offensive-minded head coach,” Big Ben said on the Channel Seven podcast. “That’s what I would do if I was the general manager. We’ve had defensive-minded coaches in here, that’s what they’ve all been. And I’m ready for an offensive guy. I wanna score more than six points in a postseason game.”
It is true that the Steelers have never really had a successful, offensive-minded head coach in their history. For the first three decades of their existence, from 1933 to 1969, they were arguably the worst team in football. That changed when they hired longtime NFL defensive coordinator Chuck Noll.
The first thing Noll did after coming on was select future Hall of Famer “Mean” Joe Greene with the No. 1 overall pick in 1969. Twenty-three seasons and four Super Bowls later, Noll stepped down in 1991 and was replaced by former NFL linebacker and Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher.
Fifteen seasons and a Super Bowl followed. After Cowher retired, the Steelers hired former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin. Nineteen years and a Super Bowl.
The results are great, but it’s going on 60 years of the same old stuff in Pittsburgh. That’s why many in Steeler Nation will agree with Roethlisberger’s desire for something fresh and new in the form of a young, offensive wiz kid.
“I would love a younger offensive-minded head coach that is maybe an up-and-comer,” Roethlisberger explained. “A McVay-ish, a Ben Johnson-ish. A young guy that you bring in to focus on the offense. And he’s hopefully going to be successful enough that you can keep him here for the next 10 [years].”
However, this is still the Steel City after all. The defense must be addressed and must remain a strength. That’s why Roethlisberger wants to see that new, young head coach go out and hire a veteran, proven, and respected coordinator to keep the defense on point.
Roethlisberger’s strategy does not sound too bad. No, not too shabby at all.
The thing is, Pittsburgh isn’t even interviewing most of the exciting young offensive coaching talent available during this cycle. They already interviewed Hafley, Green Bay’s former defensive coordinator, to no avail. They have also scheduled interviews with Chargers DC Jesse Minter (Friday, January 23) and Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase (Saturday, January 24).
With the other four candidates being Vikings DC Brian Flores, Panthers DC Ejiro Evero, Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, and Rams DC Chris Shula, Scheelhaase seems like the only chance Pittsburgh has to hire the offensive guru that Roethlisberger and much of the fanbase so desperately want.
They can only hope that Scheelhaase, 35, will hit his interview out of the park on Saturday.
