A series idea I’ve been kicking around that I’ll explore until training camp begins. A set of Pittsburgh Steelers “what ifs?” that could’ve changed the course of a moment in time or the entire franchise’s history. Some questions are bigger than others and no one has a time machine to know the answers. Let’s dive right on in.
Steelers’ What Ifs – What If Pittsburgh Hired Russ Grimm Instead Of Mike Tomlin?
The Steelers have had just three head coaches since 1969: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin.
But what if it wasn’t Tomlin. What if it was Russ Grimm? Would the stat still be the same, more Popes than there have been Steelers’ coaches?
For awhile, it seemed like that was the direction. Once Cowher stepped down, Grimm was the in-house favorite. He was the long-time offensive line coach and like Cowher, a Pittsburgh native who represented the blue-collar toughness of the city. An offensive line coach getting to run the show. That’s Steelers’ football, baby.
Instead, Pittsburgh pivoted and hired the relative-unknown in Tomlin. Like Noll and Cowher, he was a young, defensive-minded face and clearly the right choice. We don’t know what Pittsburgh’s history would’ve been like under Head Coach Russ Grimm but it’s highly doubtful he’d have the same longevity and overall success as Tomlin.
So what would it have looked at? As the series name implies, we don’t know. It’s a pure hypothetical. Tomlin won his first Super Bowl two years in. Would Grimm have done the same? Tomlin’s roster mostly consisted of Cowher’s players so Grimm generally would’ve had the same talent but would’ve had the same success?
It’s probable Pittsburgh would’ve more quickly improved the offensive line than Tomlin did, who didn’t start that process until 2010 with Maurkice Pouncey. If that would’ve helped the Steelers win or not, it’s hard to say.
In all likelihood, Grimm wouldn’t be the Steelers’ head coach in 2023. He stopped coaching in 2017, announcing his retirement after spending several years in Tennessee. Assume the same timeline and that Grimm found a way to coach a decade in Pittsburgh. If he retired the same year (and I understand I’m simplifying and not accounting for a million variables here), the leading head coaching hires in 2018 included: Jon Gruden, Mike Vrabel, Frank Reich, and Steve Wilks.
If I had to guess, and that’s all this exercise is, if Pittsburgh hired and stuck with an old-school man like Grimm for a decade, they would’ve turned around and hired an old-school coach like Vrabel – a former Steeler, no less – in 2018.
Of course, would Grimm have made it that long? Pittsburgh is as patient and stable as any franchise in football and wouldn’t have quickly fired him. But what if a change came in 2013? Or 2015? Would it still be the same old stable Steelers?
The reason why they’ve had only three head coaches since the Nixon Administration is because they’ve hired good ones. Hall of Famers or borderline ones. Eventually, they’re bound to hire a dud, someone who doesn’t have success, and the Steelers will have to make a decision. If they had gone Grimm over Tomlin, maybe they would’ve been confronted by that fact a decade ago. And the Steelers’ stat, those three head coaches, wouldn’t be true today.
