Expecting the Unexpected -- UPDATE

Update -- January 22, 2007 (11:30 PST)
WTAE.com will be streaming the Mike Tomlin press conference online.

Update -- January 22, 2007 (8:45 PST)
A press conference is to be held this afternoon at 330PM (EST) to announce the hiring of Mike Tomlin as the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Team Pass members can watch the press conference live. At this time none of the media outlets in Pittsburgh (e.g. WTAE-TV, KDKA-TV, KDKA 1020) have indicated whether or not they will stream the press conference on their respective websites.

Original Posting
After a long and distinguished career the head coach resigned.

The head coach's top assistant -- respected by the former coach, players, and the owners alike -- seemed to be a perfect fit to take over. All that was needed was the announcement to make it official, and the Steelers could enjoy some much desired continuity.

Only Joe Greene, Chuck Noll's valued assistant, never received that call. Instead the Rooney family went outside of the organization -- seemingly placing a value on a fresh perspective as much as coaching ability -- to hire a virtually unknown defensive coordinator, Bill Cowher.

With the departure of Ken Whisenhunt to Arizona many are now proclaiming Russ Grimm to be the heir apparent to Bill Cowher -- a trusted, respected assistant seemingly ready to assume the mantel of head coach. But such assumptions ignore the deliberative quality of the interviewing process (according to a statement by Art Rooney II the organization is trying "to determine which one is the best candidate for the Pittsburgh Steelers at this point in time." If Russ Grimm was the obvious choice then why the second round of interviews?), and the prediction here is that by the end of January Mike Tomlin is going to be the new head coach, and first African-American head coach, of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dan Rooney was the owner who pushed hardest for minority candidates to be included in all head coach searches by all teams, and the guess here is that the Steelers current patriarch is preparing to put some action behind his words.

You Heard it Here First -- The Last Update of this Update of this Posting

Update -- January 21, 2007 9:40PM (PST)
Both major newspapers in Pittsburgh are now in agreement -- Mike Tomlin is the latest 34-year old defensive coordinator to become head coach of the Steelers. According to the report in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (which itself reported Saturday night that soon-to-be former Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach Russ Grimm had been chosen as the new head coach): "Kevin Colbert, the Steelers director of football operations, began phoning players Sunday night and informing them the team had hired Tomlin.

Alan Faneca, one of the team's offensive captains, confirmed that Colbert had called him with news of Tomlin's hiring, but the All-Pro guard declined further comment."

Update -- January 21, 2007 4:55PM (PST)
Two of the best sports writers anywhere are Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. So when they co-author an article you can be sure that the information contained therein is accurate.

Therefore it is safe to say that Mike Tomlin is the new Steelers head coach.

According to an article at post-gazette.com the team and Mr. Tomlin's representative are working out the details of a four year contract with an option for a fifth season.

Update -- January 21, 2007 7:47 AM (PST)
It's a battle of dueling sources.

The following is an excerpt from an item in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Russ Grimm has been offered and has accepted the Steelers' head coaching position, a source in Pittsburgh confirmed late Saturday.

Grimm, 47, succeeds Bill Cowher, who coached the Steelers for 15 seasons before resigning Jan. 5. The hiring of Grimm will be announced Monday at a news conference."

I'm so glad that the "real" media is so much more reliable than the blogosphere.

Original Posting
A few days ago Pittsburgh Steelers Fanatic projected -- ok, guessed -- that Mike Tomlin was about to become the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, after rank conjecture from SI.com comes word from team sources -- via a report from ESPN.com -- that Mr. Tomlin is indeed set to become head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"The Pittsburgh Steelers plan to name Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their new head coach, ESPN's Chris Mortensen confirmed Saturday night.

Sources told Mortensen that the team would announce Tomlin as coach either Sunday or Monday. Tomlin would become only the third Steelers coach in 38 years, and the first black head coach in their 74-year history.

Tomlin, a former Tampa Bay assistant, has been the coordinator for just one season under Brad Childress in Minnesota. Before that, he was a Buccaneers' secondary coach, a five-year spell that included installation of the teams' trademark 'Tampa-2' scheme. He was an assistant coach in the collegiate ranks from 1995 to 2000.

Sports Illustrated's Web site, SI.com, first reported that Pittsburgh had decided on Tomlin earlier Saturday. Steelers owner Dan Rooney told The Associated Press he had no comment. Team president Art Rooney II, leaving the team's practice complex Saturday, said he had nothing to say.

A person with knowledge of the search denied Tomlin has been hired, telling the AP that not only has the job not been offered but there have been no contract negotiations. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Steelers do not want details of the search made public until they have made their choice.

Tomlin and Grimm, the Steelers' offensive line coach and only remaining in-house candidate, both had their second interviews earlier this week. The Steelers couldn't talk to Rivera again until the Bears are eliminated from the playoffs. Chicago plays New Orleans in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday."

What remains to be seen is how many of the current Steelers assistants -- all of whom are under contract for 2007 -- will be retained, and whether or not changes in either the offensive or defensive schemes will be forthcoming; and if so how do will those changes affect the Steelers' draft strategy (more about that here this week).

Obviously the hope here is that all the coaches will be offered the opportunity to remain with the organization, however it may be very difficult for Russ Grimm to stay on after having competed for the top job.

Arizona Head Coach Seeking Steelers Assistants

Despite the fact that they are under contract to the Steelers for the 2007 regular season, Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt sought permission from the Steelers to speak to Pittsburgh assistants Bruce Arians (wide receiver coach), Keith Butler (linebackers coach), and Kevin Spencer (special teams coach) about positions on the staff in Arizona. According to a report on azcentral.com only Mr. Spencer was permitted to speak with the Cardinals head coach about a position on that staff.

In a related story (at least tangentally), the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron -- the same person who kept the ball out of LaDanian Tomlinson's hands in the second half of the Chargers vs. Patriots game -- has emerged as the leading candidate for the Miami Dolphins job. According to the report Mr. Cameron "kept his hotel room near the Dolphins' complex Thursday night after a second day of interviewing with team officials. A Dolphins spokesman said management was still weighing the candidates.

'I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that no decision will be made today,' Dolphins senior vice president Harvey Greene said last night. 'We hope to finish the process by tomorrow or Saturday at the latest'."

So it appears that, for reasons that are not immediately evident, Russ Grimm's last chance for a head coaching position this offseason is also his first choice -- the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Quiet Before the Storm

Update -- January 11, 2007 5:10PST
The NFL Network is reporting that Ken Whisenhunt is scheduled for a second interview in Phoenix on Friday.

Update -- January 11, 2007 1:10PST
The experts at Pro Football Weekly are reporting that Mike Sherman is the choice for the head coaching position at Arizona.

While not going quite that far, ESPN's John Clayton describes Mr. Sherman's return to the desert, accompanied by his wife, as a "most interesting development."

Original Posting
The candidates have been interviewed, and now Steelers fans have . . . to . . . just . . . wait.

According to an article by Mike Prisuta in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the Steelers "are expected to conduct one or more follow-up interviews." Of the four candidates the Rooneys are known to have interviewed only one, Ron Rivera, is with a team that is still in the playoffs. If a second interview is to be conducted with Mr. Rivera it will have to wait until the Bears are eliminated from the playoffs (leave that to Rex Grossman).

In the same article Russ Grimm is described as having "emerged as one of the leading candidates -- if not the leading candidate -- to succeed Dennis Green." However, according to an article by Kent Somers for the Arizona Republic, there "are indications that [Mike] Sherman, who spent last season as the Texans' assistant head coach, has emerged as the leading candidate." The article goes on to report that Mr. Sherman, formerly the head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, and his wife flew to Phoenix on Wednesday.

As for Russ Grimm and/or Ken Whisenhunt, the Arizona Republic article has this to say:
"The Cardinals interviewed eight candidates in eight days, concluding Tuesday with Russ Grimm, assistant head coach of the Steelers. Grimm and fellow Steelers assistant Ken Whisenhunt, also a Cardinals candidate, have interviewed for the Steelers job, which opened last week when Bill Cowher resigned.

That position would be their first choice, and the Cardinals might be delaying until the Steelers make a decision, perhaps in the next few days."

Well This is Unexpected: Gailey to be Interviewed

ESPN and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are reporting that Georgia Tech head coach, and former Steelers offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey will be interviewed this weekend for the Steelers head coaching position.

It had been widely speculated that the Rooneys would announce their choice for the position as soon as Monday, however the Post-Gazette is reporting that the organization has "no immediate timetable to name a succesor (sic) to [Bill] Cowher."

Adding some intrigue to the entire situation is the fact that according to an ESPN.com report Mr. Gailey is being interviewed at the recommendation of Bill Cowher.

Of course one has to wonder what this means for Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt. Though they have each interviewed for multiple head coaching positions, and have scored high marks throughout the league for their abilities (both as coaches and head coaching candidates), neither has received any offer(s) this offseason (i.e. it is believed that Mr. Whisenhunt was offered the head coaching position in Oakland last season, but that he turned that offer down). What, if anything, observers can infer from this latest turn of events is -- as always -- open to interpretation.

Head Coach Search Methodology

Not long after Bill Cowher's press conference on Friday, Steelers President Art Rooney II stepped before the media and discussed just how the organization will go about the process of seeking their third head coach in nearly forty years. A transcript of that session is available at Steelers.com, but here are a few of the highlights:

• Both Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm have been informed by the organization that they are both candidates for the position.


• The list of potential candidates is still in the process of being formed, therefore Mr. Rooney was not able to provide the number of candidates that will be interviewed.


• Those candidates whose teams are in the playoffs will be visited by the Steelers "interview committee" -- Dan Rooney, Art Rooney II, and Kevin Colbert -- in their city.


• While there is no requirement that the future head coach commit to preserving the team's current offensive and/or defensive schemes, the organization is looking for someone who "fit[s] with the organization and the approach we have had to football."


• NFL coaching experience is one of the criteria being considered, but they "haven't eliminated college coaches, per se."


• Bill Cowher will be asked "for his thoughts on people he knows around the league."


• Whomever the new head coach is will be encouraged to consider the current group of Pittsburgh assistant coaches for positions on the new coach's staff, but there is no requirement that he keep the assistants.