Though the first game of the Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan tenure as co-offensive coordinators for the Pittsburgh Steelers was a resounding success — the Steelers racked up 421 yards and looked as good offensively as they have in three seasons — there’s a chance that neither is the long-term answer at the coaching position under Mike Tomlin.
They are certainly getting an extended look down the stretch as the Steelers are in the playoff hunt and have a chance to prove their worth and make their case for the position moving forward, but it’s reasonable to assume that the next offensive coordinator isn’t currently on the Steelers’ coaching staff.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Gerry Dulac certainly believes that. In his latest chat with readers Wednesday morning, Dulac threw out one name of who he’d personally like to see as the Steelers’ next offensive coordinator.
That name? Frank Reich.
“Frank Reich would be a good choice,” Dulac wrote in response to a reader question, according to the Post-Gazette.
Of course, Dulac has done this before, throwing out names for the offensive coordinator position for the Steelers, like Jon Gruden. He’s faced plenty of backlash for that absurd take, too, even trying to walk it back saying he was saying it in jest to readers, but Reich’s name carries some weight.
Reich was recently fired by the Carolina Panthers just 11 games into his tenure as head coach. The Panthers were 1-10 under Reich after trading up to No. 1 overall to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young in the 2023 NFL Draft. Reich put together a great coaching staff in his first year in Carolina, but the results just weren’t there. Owner David Tepper had very little patience, canning the big-name hire he spent a ton of money on in the offseason.
Reich’s firing marked the second straight season he was fired in-season; in 2022 the Indianapolis Colts fired Reich during his fifth season.
He seems to have lost his touch as a head coach, but he has had success in the past when he was strictly an offensive coordinator, rather than head coach and play caller like he’s done in recent years in Indianapolis and Carolina.
In his time as a coach in the NFL, Reich was offensive coordinator for the then-San Diego Chargers in 2014 and 2015. Those two seasons in San Diego weren’t much to write home about for Reich from a play-calling perspective as the Chargers were 17th in points per game (21.8) in 2014 and 26th in 2015 (20.0). The Chargers went 9-7 and 4-12 those two seasons, even with quarterback Philip Rivers starting every single game. That led to coaching changes, which caused Reich to end up in Philadelphia.
With the Eagles, Reich was offensive coordinator again, and he took off with Philadelphia and quarterback Carson Wentz.
Reich and the Eagles had the 16th-ranked offense in 2016, scoring 22.9 points per game and that season laid the foundation for 2017. That season, Reich’s offense averaged 28.9 points per game, good for third in the NFL.
Wentz had an MVP-level season before getting hurt late in the year. Then, the Eagles made a run to the Super Bowl with backup Nick Foles, dropping 41 points in the Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.
The offense’s explosiveness and consistency in 2017 in Philadelphia led to Reich landing the head coaching job in Indianapolis, where he went 40-33-1 as head coach. During that time, Reich’s offenses ranked fifth, 16th, ninth and ninth before falling off entirely in 2022, finishing 30th, leading to Reich’s firing.
In that time, Reich went through five quarterbacks in five years, which led to some struggles.
Now, he finds himself out of a job again but has stated that he wants to coach again. Pittsburgh might be a potential landing spot for Reich. He’s been a popular name thrown around over the years, and now there’s an opportunity to add an experienced, outside play caller like Reich. We’ll see what happens with the Steelers at the offensive coordinator position after the season.
Dulac has cast his vote for Reich though.
