Let’s take part in a little hypothetical. What if the Steelers did the unthinkable and actually moved on from a head coach. The popular argument against this of course is who out there would actually be a better option. After all, Mike Tomlin has had nearly unparalleled success during his coaching tenure. It will make ten years this upcoming season since the Steelers have made it to a Super Bowl however. The whispers have begun to grow louder with every year this talented team continues to under achieve. Here’s a list of candidates that could possibly replace Tomlin if the team made the move this offseason…….hypothetically of course:
- Urban Meyer – One of the most successful college head coaches of our generation, Urban Meyer should be near the top of any coaching list the Steelers put together. Meyer has three national titles under his belt, two with Florida and another with his current Ohio St. squad. Getting Meyer to leave Ohio St. wouldn’t be easy, or cheap. Pittsburgh would likely have to make him the highest paid coach in the NFL to get him to leave the Buckeyes. Then there’s the issue of control. Most high-profile coaches like Meyer demand control over player personnel. That could be a potential sticking point in negotiations.
- Wade Phillips – I know what you’re thinking, Phillips has had multiple head coaching opportunities, and not been very successful. What Phillips has proven though is that he’s basically a defensive genius. His work as a defensive coordinator speaks for itself. Transforming the Rams defense in 2017 is just further proof of what he can do. Hiring him to fix the defense, and possibly having him allow the offensive coaching staff to stay intact would be the perfect scenario.
- Frank Reich – This may be a bit of a flavor of the month choice, but Reich’s work is pretty impressive. You can’t help but marvel at the way the Eagles offense shredded the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Keep in mind they did it with a back-up quarterback as well. Reich has developed an offensive system that is very difficult to defend. Imagine what he could do with all the weapons the Steelers offense possesses.
- Greg Schiano – Schiano has had quite the eventful last couple of months. He was set to be named the head coach at Tennessee until a firestorm over his possible involvement in the Penn St. abuse scandal starting getting legs. He’s never been linked to any of that, and was the victim of an unfair smear campaign. As far as football goes, Schiano is known for being a great defensive mind. He’s also known as a bit of a strict disciplinarian, something that caused him trouble as head coach of the Buccaneers. Defense and discipline are two things the Steelers are in short supply of right now.
- Dabo Swinney – Swinney has managed to turn the Clemson football program into a perennial national championship contender. He also has years of experience working under Nick Saban as a position coach at Alabama. Swinney has never actually hinted at being interested in an NFL job however. Getting him to leave a fantastic job like Clemson wouldn’t be easy. The lure of trying to be successful at the NFL level has enticed almost every great college coach in the past. Given the option of coaching a franchise like the Steelers would be hard for any coach to turn down.
Urban Meter quit on Florida with limited notice. Art Rooney wouldn’t touch him!
What has Wade Phillips or Greg Schiano won?
Dabo Swinney would be …….just another (Steve Spurrier).
I do believe a 33 yr. Old by the name of Mike Tomlin turned around a Minnesota Defense as their coordinator.
So, back to my $2 question…if you want Mike Tomlin fired, who will you hire.
It’s a shame it takes going to the SB every year to be a requirement to keep your job. I noticed something really peculiar about this Steeler article.
What happened to the Rooney rule?!
Urban Meyer has one everywhere he’s been, including Utah of all places
Phillips and Schiano are both defensive experts, something this team needs badly.
It’s unfair to compare Swinney to Spurrier.
Tomlin was only D coordinator for one year in Minnesota. The defense here has gotten progressively worse since he took over. So I ask you, how long are you willing to accept failure with the most talented roster in football?
Failure? There were 2 defensive coaches named in that miserable scenario. Wade Phillips, who I respect, is another Dick Lebeau. He has led which team to what SB and won? Greg Schiano? LOL…..
Listen, 1 year or 10 years as coordinator, Mike was a success. Next time you want to say they have gotten worse, please send me some stats. Yeah, the D has declined since Troy left, but what D wouldn’t? See: Baltimore Ravens when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed retired. We all know that Ryan Shazier’s injury played a vital role in the decline entering a playoffs. You’re not fooling me with your blanket statements. I know football. I believe Ben will play at ease, once Randy takes over. He was walking on pins and needles with Todd Haley.
The bottom line is that, Mike has never had a losing season and has appeared in 2 SBs while winning 1. You have ‘great coaches” who never make the playoffs! I do remember Bill Cowher, who I love, with the same SB track record. Oh, oh…but Bill had multiple losing seasons, and let’s not forget that Mike took over his 8-8 team and advanced to the SB two years later. It’s funny how he took that TALENTED TEAM and WON the SB. Seriously, are you serious?!
Again, what happened to ROONEY RULE in this bizarre and idiotic post. I have a feeling I know…just what you’re getting at about Mike Tomlin. It’s a damn shame!
You’re not serious right now. I don’t have to adhere to the Rooney rule because obviously I’m not the GM of the football team. I don’t have access to every single assistant coach in the NFL. Don’t try to use the race card with me, that’s a load of crap. I picked the best 5 I could think of due to merit that’s it. If I missed a minority candidate so be it, I’m open to any suggestion.
As far as Tomlin goes, yes he’s been very successful. Now we are going on 10 years without a Super Bowl. That’s from no lack of talent either. So you can go blindly backing him all you want, but this team has underachieved.
Tomlin hired Butler, Porter, and Lake who are all terrible coaches and the results are evident.
Seriously, you have 2 coaches who quit on their teams (Urban Meyer/Fla. and Nick I’m not resigning from the Dolphins Saban). Btw, Nick crept out of Davie, Florida in the middle of the night! You’re right ‘you don’t have to adhere to the Rooney Rule,’ but if that’s your best excuse that you’re not playing the race card, who said you were? It’s on your conscious and not mine. I just asked a simple question about a rule this family implemented because people and GMs interview garbage like this. Also,it was Cowher who hired Butler and promised him that he would a D Coordinator in waiting. Keith was offered several HC jobs. He turned them down because the Rooneys and Cowher told him once Lebeau left, he was next. Get your facts together. It’s called Wikipedia!
You’re crying about 10 years without a SB?! Let’s see….between Cowher and Noll how many years did the Steelers go without a SB? I’ll up the ante…it was 14 years before Cowher won a SB. So why weren’t you all bitc….I meant complaining then? If this is the “best 5” you could come with, I THANK GOD you’re not a GM! Wade Phillips hasn’t won a damn thing. Greg Schiano is jobless and under investigation. Saban and Spurrier, who are great college coaches, can tell you and your crew that the NFL and FBS are two different entities, so relay that to Urban and Dabo. Why in the world would you think Art Rooney II would consider any of these coaches? There is a reason the Steelers has had only 3 coaches in the last 50 years. People like you will play musical chairs like the other garbage teams out there. If you fired Tomlin today,Jerry Jones and a host of NFL owners will have their jets parked on a runway near Heinz field. Talent? Who played a huge role in picking that talent. I can go on and on, but you’re a waste of time.
As for all this talent…..A guy from my hometown (Ryan Shazier) injury played a significant role in the defensive struggle. You know that….or did you?! I do believe, prior to that horrible injury, the defense was ranked in the top 5 (there’s a top 5 for ya) in every defensive category. Go ahead…..research it. So stop with these lame excuses for wanting this man fired. Mr. Rooney would NOT hire anyone off of your list. The Steelers went 25 years w/o a SB between Noll and Cowher, and 14 years under Cowher’s watch. I love Cowher, but where was this fire Cowher back then? Yes, contrary to your beliefs, there are minority coaches out there who qualify for HC positions. If you were in Kevin Colbert’s shoes, Art Rooney would FIRE YOU!
First off, if you knew anything about football which you clearly don’t you’d know that Wade Phillips is considered a defensive genius. That’s something this team needs badly. Keith Butler is a horrible coordinator who’s only there because he’s buddies with Tomlin. They coached together at Arkansas St. Since you’re so fond of Wikipedia look it up. And while you’re at it, check your facts because Schiano is not unemployed he’s the D coordinator at Ohio st. and is in no way under any sort of investigation. I love you fools who are so quick to criticize posts when you are completely uninformed. As far as Urban Meyer, nobody knows why he left Florida and personally I don’t care. He’s won multiple national titles with two different teams. That’s a great resume in my book.
When it comes to Shazier, yes that was a blow to the defense. I’ve got news for you though, they were as bad with him as without him. They played just as bad against Jacksonville during the regular season with him.
Finally don’t bait me in two separate articles with the race card, the play dumb and say it’s my conscious. I don’t care what the coach looks like as long as they win Super Bowls, bottom line. You’re binky Tomlin has lost the team. They are undisciplined and mentally unprepared. They are outcoached consistently. It’s time for him to go
Oh and by the way, I’m so off base one of my suggested coaches (Frank Reich) just got hired by the Colts. If you want to improve you’re football IQ, keep reading my posts. If not, crawl back under the rock you came from.
Oh and one more thing. Cower took over a bad football team and rebuilt it. Tomlin took over a Super Bowl ready roster. It’s kind of unfair to compare the time it took them to get to Super Bowls if you’re being honest with yourself. I never said I liked Cower more either. I think they are very similar coaches who rely too much on emotion and not enough on strategy.