Coaching Changes

The following brief item comes from an item in the Buffalo News:

"The Buffalo Bills could lose one of the assistant coaches on Dick Jauron's staff. Larry Zierlein, who was assistant offensive line coach last season under Jim McNally, received permission from the Bills to interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Zierlein, 61, and new Steelers coach Mike Tomlin served together on the same staff at the University of Louisville in 1999 and 2000. The Steelers are looking for an offensive line coach to replace Russ Grimm, who left to join the Arizona Cardinals staff."

Interestingly -- and despite what the article states -- Mr. Zierlein worked on the staff at the University of Cincinnati while Mike Tomlin was the secondary coach at the school (I can find no information that would indicate that either man coached at the University of Louisville), and also worked with Bruce Arians when Mr. Arians was offensive coordinator in Cleveland. Prior to his NFL and University of Cincinnati experiences Mr. Zierlein coached at Tulane (for two separate stints), LSU, and the University of Houston.

On the running back coach front, there is this item from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"Coach Mike Tomlin is talking to former Arizona Cardinals running backs coach Kirby Wilson about taking a similar position with the Steelers.

Wilson would replace Dick Hoak, who retired after 45 seasons as a player and coach with the Steelers, the last 35 as running backs coach.

Wilson, 45, had been with the Cardinals since 2004 but was not retained by new Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Steelers' former offensive coordinator. Wilson was running backs coach in Tampa Bay (2002-03) when Tomlin was a secondary coach.

Previously, Wilson worked with the New England Patriots (1997-99) and Washington Redskins (2000). A former running back/wide receiver at Illinois, Wilson was a cornerback for two seasons in the Canadian Football League."

Finally, on a different matter entirely, it was very disappointing to see Darren Perry resign his position with the Steelers. His work has been outstanding, and everyone at Pittsburgh Steelers Fanatic sees Mr. Perry as having a termendous upside potential as an NFL coach. However, Dick LeBeau's silence on Mr. Perry's departure seems to speak volumes.