With everything going on, I forgot to post about this:
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin accepted the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching job Sunday night and was working out a four-year contract he hoped to complete Monday, people close to the search told The Associated Press.
They requested anonymity because the Steelers have asked all parties involved in the search to not speak to reporters until they can make the announcement, which could come Monday or Tuesday.
Tomlin is expected to make around $2.5 million per year, the going rate of late for first-time NFL coaching hires. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher resigned Jan. 5 following 15 seasons after apparently rejecting a $6 million per year contract extension offer earlier this year.
Tomlin’s hiring completed a frantic 2 1/2-week search in which he was initially viewed as an unlikely choice behind perceived front-runners Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, only to land the job after impressing the Steelers with his motivation, intensity, knowledge of defense and enthusiasm.
Welcome aboard, Mike.
Bubblegum Tate
This story makes the interesting point that the hring of Tomlin is as much, if not more, of a step forward in terms of racial progress as having two Black coaches in the Super Bowl, the rationale being that the Steelers, unlike most other teams, do not hire for the short-term. They don’t consider coaches to be disposable. As such, the Pittsburgh head coaching job is a very prestigious, desireable one because it’s typically for the long haul, and it’s a good sign that a Black man has gotten such a position.
But all the racial hubbub aside…welcome aboard, Mike. I’m looking forward to seeing the team succeed with you at the helm.
David
It’s also not all that surprising, since the guy who hired Tomlin is the same person the Rooney Rule (which requires all teams to interview at least one minority candidate during a head-coaching search) is named for.
Tim F.
Yep. Not sucking eggs the year after we won the g*ddamned superbowl would be nice too.
guyermo
“…impressed them with his knowledge of defense”
I would think the change in the Vikings defense from last season to this season would be apparent even without an interview.
But maybe the steelers just had low expectations of him or were embarrassed by being ranked behind the Vikings in overall defense.
Fledermaus
Nice pick-up. The Vikes had a monster defense this year, on a par with Chicago, hopefully he’ll have a good O-coordinator with call the plays.
Davebo
Off topic, but this is just too funny.
proteinwisdom.com/index.php?/weblog/entry/22207/#comments
They are praising an article claiming the “Surge” is already working! And it’s written by a man fluent in Arabic that’s travelled the region extensively.
What they ignore is that he’s also the former Dir. of Research for Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress.
Halffasthero
Really happy that you took our defensive coordinator. We finally land a good defense after 1-2 decades in the wilderness and it lasts all of one season.
Good luck to the Steelers.
Not.