A list of favorites to be the next Pittsburgh Steelers head coach has developed over the last couple days on social media. Whether someone from the collection of frontrunners — Chris Shula, Mike McCarthy, Brian Flores and Anthony Weaver — will be Mike Tomlin’s replacement remains to be seen, though, because Pittsburgh’s search is far from complete.
It’s possible the Steelers haven’t even interviewed the man who will be their next head coach.
That’s what NFL insider Josina Anderson suggested Wednesday with a report that the Pittsburgh front office continues to scour the market for candidates.
“The Steelers are still internally reviewing other names on the market for their head coach vacancy, before whittling their list, a league source said early this morning,” wrote Anderson on X.
It’s not entirely clear who the “other names” the organization is reviewing could be.
In the first week of the process, the Steelers announced they virtually interviewed seven candidates. Of those seven, one has landed a head coaching job — Jeff Hafley with the Miami Dolphins.
The other six candidates are Shula, Weaver, Ejiro Evero, Klay Kubiak, Jesse Minter, and Nate Scheelhaase.
Two other candidates are also up for consideration. Both of them are former NFL head coaches — Mike McCarthy and Brian Flores.
The Steelers announced meeting with Flores this week.
Who Are Steelers Still Considering as Head Coach Candidate?
The million dollar question with Anderson’s post is who are the candidates the Steelers could still interview. The most obvious guess is an assistant from the Seattle Seahawks or Denver Broncos.
NFL insider Albert Breer explained this week because of an unusual rule, the Steelers haven’t been able to interview Seahawks and Broncos assistants yet.
“Pittsburgh missed the first window because it was playing on wild-card weekend,” wrote Breer. “The second window (during the Super Bowl bye week, should either or both make it) is only for second interviews.”
If there are hidden candidates the Steelers are considering, it makes sense it’s a Denver or Seattle assistant.
Both Seahawks coordinators are head coaching candidates this year. That’s offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and defensive coordinator Aden Durde.
The Steelers virtually interviewed Kubiak’s brother, Klay, from the 49ers.
On the Broncos staff, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and pass game coordinator Davis Webb are potential candidates.
Steelers Searching for More Candidates
There are a couple other ways to read Anderson report. It’s possible the Steelers are simply doing their due diligence this week, scouring the market for any underrated candidates they didn’t find initially.
There’s also another not so positive way to read Anderson’s report — that Pittsburgh’s initial pool of candidates left something to be desired.
One could argue that if a candidate blew away the Steelers in their virtual interview, then the organization wouldn’t still be searching for other possibilities.
Time will tell which is the correct way to read Anderson’s report. It might not be clear, though, until the Steelers make their final decision. That still might not happen for a couple weeks, depending on which teams make the Super Bowl.
Steelers Still Considering Secret Coaching Candidates: Report