Steelers Coaching Candidates

With Mike Tomlin resigning, the Steelers are looking for a new head coach for the first time since 2007. In case you're wondering, yes, I wrote about the Steelers hiring Mike Tomlin back then since this blog is old! There is a lot of speculation about potential candidates to be the fourth head coach of the Steelers since 1969. I'm here to add to that speculation! Some of these people listed below are legitimate candidates. Some are not. In any event, I hope that you enjoy this.

(The picture above is from a much younger Mike Tomlin when I compared his expression to a Game of Thrones character.)

Many people are clamoring for someone associated with the Indiana University football team to take over in Pittsburgh. While you probably believe that I'm writing about current IU coach Curt Cignetti, who turned arguably the worst major football program in college football history into a national championship contender and someone born in Pittsburgh, worked at Pitt, and got his first head coaching job at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), I'm looking at someone else. 

Antwaan Randle El 

Randle El is one of the best players in IU history, but he also played five seasons for the Steelers. More importantly, he served as an offensive assistant in Tampa for two years (and got a championship as a coach when the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV), held the wide receiver coaching position with the Detroit Lions for 4 years, and is now the wide receivers / assistant head coach for the Chicago Bears. He's a winner and has had success in all of coaching stops. El Yeah!  Oh, he also did this.

Hines Ward

Currently, the Associate Head Coach and Wide Receivers Coach at Arizona State University. He previously worked for the Steelers, Jets, and at Florida Atlantic University. A 3-7 record as the head coach for the XFL's San Antonio Brahmas is a little concerning. Oh, he also did the thing in the video above.

Danny Smith

Big Gum has been patient, lurking in the background of the NFL. They have a stronghold in baseball, where major league dugouts universally have large containers of gum. Big Gum may feel that the time is right to make its mark in America's biggest sport. The poster person to represent Big Gum is clearly Danny Smith. He's also from Pittsburgh and graduated from Central Catholic High School.

Cam Heyward

The Steelers could make history by becoming the first team in the modern NFL to have its head coach also be an active player. And who better to do that than Cam Heyward. Seems highly regarded and well respected by his teammates. He's a leader. Curly Lambeau and George Halas were successful in both roles with the Packers and Bears respectfully in the 1920s. Let's try it again for the 2020s! (Tom Landry and Dan Reeves were both players / assistant coaches, and they both did pretty well too.)

Larry Foote

Current run game coordinator / outside linebacker coach for Tampa. Definitely seeing a trend of former Steelers who go to Tampa to coach. More importantly, I get to share this picture again!

Byron Leftwich

Former Steelers QB who won a Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator in Tampa (again!). He deserved to be a head coach then. It seems like he worked for Deion Sanders at the University of Colorado last season, but he’s not listed as part of the coaching staff on Colorado's website, and there were reports that he may have been a volunteer. For once, the internet is not really clear on if or when he was employed at Colorado.

Joey Porter, Sr.

Thanks to drawing a personal foul penalty on Adam "Pacman" Jones, he helped the Steelers win a playoff game against the Bengals. (Many people may remember the two personal foul penalties to essentially seal the game for the Steelers, but the entire last few minutes of this game were absolutely bonkers.) 

(Sorry - You have to watch the video of the end of the January 2016 Steelers-Bengals playoff game on YouTube. Won't let me embed it here.)

Cedrick Wilson

I have no idea what Wilson is up to, but I feel like he needs to be included here since he was also a wide receiver on the Super Bowl XL winning team with Ward and Randle El. Don't want him feeling left out.

Ryan Clark

He's good on TV. While that means absolutely nothing, he and Pittsburgh broadcasting legend Sally Wiggin seem to have mutual admiration for each other, so that counts for something.

Bill Cowher

Bring back the Hall of Fame coaching legend from retirement. Plus, if he wins a Super Bowl in the first few years, we can all say that he won with Tomlin's players!

Am I missing other legitimate candidates? Absolutely. Is it more fun to write a post about people with Pittsburgh ties? Also absolutely!  Here We Go!

Pittsburgh South

Many Pittsburgh sports fans are rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs to win the upcoming Super Bowl. Sure, part of this is because KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes is likable, so fun to watch, and appears in commercials with Steelers legend Troy Polamalu. 

However, the bigger reason some Steelers fans will support KC is because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers employ the most decorated QB in NFL history (and frequent Steelers tormentor) Tom Brady and former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Although Brown was arguably the best WR in the NFL over the last decade, let's just write that he did not depart from Pittsburgh and Steelers on the best of terms.

Have you looked at the Tampa Bay organization though? And yes, I'm talking to Pittsburgh sports fans here. If you did, you'll see a lot of familiar names. Let's start with the obvious. Head coach Bruce Arians served as the Steelers wide receivers coach from 2004-2006 and offensive coordinator ("OC") from 2007-2011. The Steelers reached the Super Bowl twice when Arians was the OC, winning the title in the 2008 season. Then, after the 2011 season, he "retired." I still don't think the retirement was fully explained as he joined the Indianapolis Colts the next season.

Looking at the roster, there are several players with Pittsburgh or Western Pennsylvania ties. The biggest name is obviously fellow Woodland Hills High School graduate Rob Gronkowski. Gronk and I have a lot in common besides graduating from the same high school. Gronk is going to be in the NFL Hall of Fame. I've visited the NFL Hall of Fame. Gronk appeared on The Masked Singer and CBS' Game On! I've watched both of those shows. I mean, there's a lot more, but I'm getting off topic.

Starting safety Jordan Whitehead is from Monaca and had a successful career at the University of Pittsburgh. While LeSean McCoy is now a back-up and hasn't played much this year, Pitt fans will also remember him well as part of an excellent crop of running backs in Panthers history. Deep on the depth chart is WR Justin Watson who went to South Fayette High School. And reserve cornerback Russ Cockrell played two years for the Steelers. Oh, and while not Pittsburgh, WR Chris Godwin, tackle Donovan Smith, and center A.Q. Shipley (though on injured reserve) went to Penn State. This matters to a lot of people in Western PA.

You're not convinced yet. I get it. Well, let's look at the coaching staff.

- Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich played 4 seasons as the Steelers back-up QB. I've always had a soft spot for Leftwich. When I attended the Steelers-Washington Football Team game in 2008, Leftwich led the Steelers to victory after Roethlisberger got injured. I also love the video of his Marshall offensive linemen carrying him down the field when he basically played on one leg. You want to play for or with Byron Leftwich!

- Assistant Head Coach / Running Back Coordinator Harold Goodwin worked with Arians as an offense assistant with the Steelers from 2007-2011.

- Offensive Assistant Antwaan Randle El was the most exciting offensive player on the Steelers over the last 20 years. You never knew what could happen when he had the ball.

- Defensive/Special Teams Assistant Cody Grimm. This one is a bit of a stretch since I'm not sure how much time Grimm spent in Pittsburgh. However, his dad Russ was the Steelers offensive line coach for five seasons and was part of some elite Pitt teams in the late 70s and 1980.

- Outside Linebackers coach Larry Foote played 11 seasons with the Steelers. He was so solid, dependable, and a team leader. He was also part of one of my favorite post-Super Bowl pictures.

- (I missed this one before.) Safeties coach Nick Rapone is from New Castle, was a grad assistant at Pitt in 1979-80, coached at Pitt in 1989-1992, and worked at New Castle High School in 1993-1994.

- The final Pittsburgh connection is a bit surprising. Tampa's Speed & Conditioning Coach is two-time Olympic gold medalist Roger Kingdom. How would you like to be coached by arguably the greatest 110m hurdler of all time? Oh, he's also a Pitt graduate.

Look, I understand that the dislike of Brady and Brown is strong. However, if the Bucs win, I think you can be happy for all of these other people with Pittsburgh connections.

Which One Doesn't Belong?*

I received an e-mail from the NFL encouraging me to vote for the 2010 Pro Bowl. The e-mail featured this picture:



In looking at the three players featured, two are MVP candidates; two are leading undefeated teams; and one is a member of a 5-5 team. One of these guys is not like the others!

Maybe I'm being unfair to poor Ray Lewis. He is tied for 8th in the NFL in tackles with 83 and has 2 sacks (tied for 96th along with Detroit's Larry Foote and Pittsburgh's Aaron Smith who has been out for several weeks), 5 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles.

I guess we should be happy that the NFL is promoting a player on a mediocre team. However, perhaps the Jets' David Harris (88 tackles; 3.5 sacks; 1 INT; 1 forced fumble) San Francisco's Patrick Willis (96 tackles; 2.5 sacks; 2 interceptions) or Kirk Morrison of the Raiders (84 tackles) weren’t exciting enough and don't yell and do silly dances prior to games. Heaven forbid the NFL should highlight Denver's Elvis Dumervil (12 sacks); Minnesota's Jared Allen (10.5 sacks) or even the 2008 Defensive MVP James Harrison (10 sacks; 4 forced fumbles) over Ray-Ray.

You can vote for Ray Lewis or anyone else at NFL.com.

* Let's call this an extension of Trivia Tuesday!

Penguins-Red Wings Story Lines

With Detroit’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks last night, the Red Wings will now face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup finals. For all of you hockey fans and non-hockey fans (at least for now) out there, let me be of assistance for what you may (or may not) hear from the media over the next week.

- Marian Hossa was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and signed a one-year contract with Detroit this season.

- Jordan Staal does not have any brothers on the Red Wings.

- Sidney Crosby is still trying to grow a playoff beard.

- Chris Chelios will be the oldest player ever in the Stanley Cup finals at 72. (Actually, he’s only 47, and I have no idea whether or not he could be the oldest player ever in the Stanley Cup finals.)



- Will Henrik Zetterberg ever update his website?

- The Penguins are 3-0 in the playoffs when Craig Adams scores a goal. Why isn’t he playing 35 minutes a night?

- As a member of the Penguins last season, Ty Conklin was part of the trial of the decade against Marc-Andre Fleury on the old version of The Pensblog. (Just make sure that you also visit the new version of The Pensblog.) Conklin is now on Detroit.

- Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart is not related to singer Rod Stewart. (Although both think they are sexy.)



- Mikael Samuelsson played for the Penguins in 22 games during the 2002-2003 season. No one remembers this including Mikael Samuelsson.

- Jim Leyland will not turn into the traitor known as Bill Cowher.

- Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? He's a coach on the Detroit Tigers staff along with Jim Leyland and former Pirates Lloyd McClendon, Gene Lamont, and Rafael Belliard. I thought I would mention this since Detroit is facing Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals.

- Jerome Bettis is from Detroit.

- Larry Foote is also from Detroit and recently signed with the Lions after leaving the Steelers. Foote will be supporting the Red Wings. (The same article pointed out that Whitehall, Michigan native Nate McLouth was undecided. Is he still? Dejan - get on this!)

- After not participating in the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina, will Pascal Dupuis (the Iceman) play in the Stanley Cup finals?



- Penguins coach Dan Bylsma has been an NHL head coach for only a few months longer than me.

- Dan Cleary is still from Newfoundland and is still the first and only native of Newfoundland to win the Stanley Cup.

- The Penguins touched the Prince of Wales trophy.

- The Penguins are 2-0 in series when I do these previews.

This just in (as I'm writing this on Wednesday night): the Stanley Cup finals schedule has been announced (h/t Empty Netters):

Saturday, May 30 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC
Sunday, May 31 at Detroit, TBD-Night NBC
Tuesday, June 2 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm VERSUS
Thursday, June 4 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm VERSUS
* Saturday, June 6 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC
* Tuesday, June 9 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm NBC
* Friday, June 12 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC

Finally, here's the latest Yinz Luv 'Da Guins video:



Go Pens!

TMI Thursday: A Cigar Story

Let me preface this by writing that this is not a Monica Lewinsky type story, so get your mind out of the gutter, people. Here’s my big reveal: I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. Here’s my second reveal: I have smoked a cigar on several occasions. This sounds like an after-school special version of TMI Thursday, but bear with me.

I have started thinking about some big picture things in my life. We are looking into moving. This involves not only searching for a new place but also selling our condo. The entire process really, really scares me even though we haven’t even started. In addition, at the behest and occasional prompting (sometimes bordering on nagging) of my parents, I recently bought life insurance in addition to what my company provides. I’m not planning on dying or anything, but I guess if something happens to me, it’s nice to know that my wife and kitten will be OK. This is way too deep considering I have written almost exclusively about the Steelers over the past few weeks.

Anyway, as part of the life insurance interview, the agent asked dozens of questions about my medical history, lifestyle, etc. One of the questions was whether or not I smoke. Innocently enough, I mentioned that I’ve had several celebratory cigars over the past few years. I’ve probably had three cigars over the past five years. The agent didn't think it is a big deal, because it wasn’t, and we proceeded to the next question. You can see where this is heading, but before that, here are some pictures of Pittsburgh Steelers* having celebratory cigars after winning the Super Bowl:




A few days later, I learned from my agent that I did not qualify for the best rate because of my smoking. So apparently, it is worse for me to have less than one cigar a year than to regularly go to a Virginia bar (smoking is still alive and well in Virginia bars) and inhale as much second-hand smoke as possible. What a joke!

The TMI portion of TMI Thursday: Either I’m an idiot for mentioning the cigar thing in the first place or Western Reserve Life Assurance Co of OH, otherwise known as Western Reserve Life, is a terrible and out-of-touch company.

Thanks for reading my rant. You’ll be happy to know that my new life insurance is not through Western Reserve Life. In addition, I’ll try to have a better TMI Thursday soon.

Please be sure to check out much more interesting TMI Thursdays through Live It, Love It.

* How cool are the Steelers' Super Bowl bathrobes? Where can I buy one?

Photos by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for the NFL (via Charlotte Observer)

Random Ramblings

I read the Express nearly cover-to-cover everyday during my daily commute. In yesterday’s Fit section, I spotted an advertisement for Derrick Inglut Personal Training. If you look at the picture in the Express, on the front page of his website or below, it appears that Inglut has no chest hair except from his belly button down to his underwear. I’m certainly no expert on this, but it seems like there should be a rule that you either have all of your chest hair or none. By the way, who the hell walks down the street and pulls up his shirt for the camera?



Have you noticed the significant number of football players wearing just their short-sleeve jerseys during cold-weather games? The temperature during Sunday’s Steelers-Cowboys game was in the teens or low twenties, but it seemed like only a few players wore long-sleeve Under Armor style shirts under the jersey. We already know that they’re tough. Does this make them look tougher?



More and more, I seem to type Sena instead of Sean. If you see a reference to Sena’s Ramblings soon, that may be the reason why.

While shopping for jeans and pants over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that there is no such thing as a size 33x29 anymore. It seems like the only 29-inch length pants out there are for 36-inch waists. Why is that? 36x29 seems like an odd body type.

If you can ice skate and play defense (I’m looking at you Arjewtino), the Pittsburgh Penguins need some help. Hal Gill is out for 2-4 weeks joining the already injured Ryan Whitney, Sergei Gonchar and Phillippe Boucher. (Yes, 4 of the top 5 defensemen are all out.)

Finally, I think our cat has a foot fetish. He likes to lick your feet when you get out of the shower; he seems to carry and play with socks regularly; and he can sense when you are tying your shoes from miles away and is ready to attack said shoelaces.


The photo of Deshea Townsend, Larry Foote and Nick Eason is via AP.