Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II told beat writers Monday that it will be coach Mike Tomlin’s call as to who is the team’s next offensive coordinator.
The Steelers will make an outside hire for the position for the first time since time in more than 10 years after averaging just 17.9 points per game in 20023 (tied for 27th with the Tennessee Titans). Tomlin said recently at his season-in-review press conference that he would make the offensive coordinator hire along with Rooney and GM Omar Khan.
Rooney said today during his annual state of the Steelers chat that it will ultimately be Tomlin’s call.
“It would be a mistake for me to try to screw up the lines of authority,” he told a group of beat writers, according to Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Former Carolina Panthers Thomas Browns, Houston Texans QB Coach Jerrod Johnson and former Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith have already interviewed with the Steelers. The Steelers reportedly wanted to interview former Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Zac Robinson, but he has taken the job of offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons under new head coach Raheem Morris.
It is not known who else the Steelers hope to interview for the position.
The last time the Steelers went outside the organization for an offensive coordinator they hired Todd Haley to take over for Bruce Arians. He led the Steelers’ “Killer Bs” offense from 2012-17, and after Haley’s contract was not renewed, the Steelers promoted QB Coach Randy Fichtner to the position. He stayed there until 2020 before QB Coach Matt Canada succeeded him as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
The Steelers were a disaster under Canada, and they made the unprecedented move to fire him in-season, turning the offense over to RB Coach Eddie Faulkner — he served as the interim OC in the final eight games of the season, including the wild-card playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills — and QB Coach Mike Sullivan, who called plays. While the offense showed improvement under their guidance, Tomlin made it clear that neither will be considered for the full-time job.
Rooney said today that one quality the Steelers are looking for in their next offensive coordinator is someone who can adapt to the players the team already has.
“You have to have a coordinator who can work with the roster and be successful,” Rooney said per Rutter,
Smith’s past success as offensive coordinator for the ground-and-pound Titans could make him the frontrunner for the job. That is the Steelers’ personality, and they had a pair of running backs exceed 1,000-yards from scrimmage in 2023 in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Uncertainty at quarterback also makes it a certainty that the offense will continue to run through the ground game.
Tomlin and most of the Steelers’ coaching and scouting staffs are at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week. That suggests that a hire won’t be made until next week at the earliest.
