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There is a profile for the Steelers and hiring head coaches, if you can say that about something that happens every 19 years.
Three coaches in 57 years is amazing. The Vatican has twice as much turnover. The Supreme Court has swapped out six of nine justices — all on lifetime appointments — since the Steelers last hired a head coach.
But if you look at their history, all with the Rooney family guiding the franchise, it’s a clear pattern:
- Chuck Noll was 37 and the Indianapolis Colts‘ defensive coordinator when Pittsburgh hired him in 1969.
- Bill Cowher was 35 and the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defensive coordinator when Pittsburgh hired him in 1992.
- Mike Tomlin was 34 and the Minnesota Vikings‘ defensive coordinator when Pittsburgh hired him in 2007.
Younger, defensive minds who’ve by no means been a head coach. All three gained Tremendous Bowls with the Steelers, so it is laborious to query their judgment or the longevity that comes with the job. Noll went 1-13 in his first 12 months and had a shedding file his first 4 seasons, however there was endurance. Neither Cowher nor Tomlin required any, discovering quick, sustained success.
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In case you’re attempting to comply with that sample to the letter, the reply might be Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, a bit older at 42, but it surely seems like Minter has a historical past with the Ravens, the place he coached from 2017-20. Perhaps it is Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, 39, whose identify and roots may lead him, in sheer poetry, to the Dolphins.
However when you’ll drift a bit from that profile, the candidate who makes essentially the most sense could be Brian Flores.
Flores is 44 and has been the Vikings’ defensive coordinator for the final three years. Minnesota has had a top-10 protection every of the final two years. It was tied for second within the NFL with 60 sacks this season, and his contract is up, making him accessible and coveted by many groups.
Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers HC
Flores spent a 12 months on Tomlin’s workers in 2022 as linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant, and Pittsburgh completed that season by successful six of its final seven video games and holding all seven opponents to 17 factors or fewer. This 12 months’s Steelers had simply 5 such video games, holding groups to 17 or fewer all season.
The scenario with Fores is a bit sophisticated, although, as a result of in 2022, he filed a lawsuit in opposition to the NFL and three groups, citing racial discrimination. The go well with remains to be energetic, however when you have been searching for the suitable place to land, why not Pittsburgh, the place the Rooney household that owns the group has its identify on the league rule requiring groups to interview minority candidates earlier than making main hires?
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Flores gained 4 Tremendous Bowls as a New England Patriots assistant, so he is aware of how championship groups are constructed. The final time the Steelers made the AFC Championship Recreation — that is again within the 2016 season — they bumped into New England and the protection Flores helped coach, holding Pittsburgh to 9 factors till the ultimate 5 minutes in a 36-17 rout. Flores was underwhelming as a head coach in three seasons with the Dolphins, going 24-25 and lacking the playoffs yearly.
However Flores’ abilities as a defensive coach are clear. His Vikings have been seventh in scoring, third in whole protection, fourth on third down and second within the purple zone. Minnesota gained its final 5 video games, holding opponents to 10.4 factors per sport in that remaining push, barely lacking the playoffs at 9-8 regardless of beginning three totally different quarterbacks.
Brian Flores was the Steelers’ linebackers coach for a season in 2022. (Picture by Joe Sargent/Getty Photos)
Star edge rusher T.J. Watt is 31 and veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward is 36, however Pittsburgh’s high two defenders in sacks — Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig — are 28 and 24, respectively, nonetheless very a lot of their prime. There are younger gamers to construct round, and the Steelers have two additional third-round picks this 12 months — one from buying and selling George Pickens and the opposite as a compensatory decide, giving them 5 picks within the high 100.
The Steelers have many vital points past simply discovering a head coach. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 42, his future unsure, and a brand new coach will wish to know whether or not he has to inherit him as a part of his new group. Since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement 4 years in the past, Pittsburgh quarterbacks have mixed for 72 landing passes (solely the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans have fewer), and people two groups have mixed for 41 wins, barely greater than Pittsburgh’s 39 in that span. In these 4 years, the Steelers have scored 30 or extra factors simply 9 occasions. Solely 4 groups have fewer such video games, and groups just like the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Payments have 35 every.
The Steelers may additionally have to exchange Aaron Rodgers at quarterback this offseason. (Picture by Joe Sargent/Getty Photos)
It is unfair to anticipate Pittsburgh’s subsequent coach to stay as much as the ridiculously excessive requirements they’ve set. Two hires in the past, they wanted a telephone line to lookup coaches on the Web, however Flores would give them an opportunity to reset as a franchise with the identical excessive expectations the franchise has at all times had on protection.
The AFC North as an entire has a full reset this offseason, with the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns additionally looking for new head coaches and the Cincinnati Bengals coming off a 6-11 season that was their worst in 5 years. Tomlin’s legacy in Pittsburgh has been perennially good groups, avoiding a shedding file each season. However his groups even have misplaced their final seven playoff video games, so the cloud of complacency and stagnancy had hung over their middling success in recent times.
Except they discover a actual reply at quarterback this offseason, Pittsburgh might need to take a step again earlier than they re-establish themselves as a menace past the primary spherical of the playoffs. Flores is the form of coach who might construct the Steelers again as a defensive energy, and that long-awaited playoff win won’t be far off as soon as they get different issues solved.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports activities. He beforehand spent a decade overlaying the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Instances and The Athletic. You may comply with him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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