If there has been a common theme among the four candidates the Pittsburgh Steelers interviewed (or in the case of Zac Robinson, tried to interview), it’s a Sean McVay background. Robinson worked alongside him with the Los Angeles Rams. Former Carolina Panthers OC Thomas Brown did the same prior to 2023. The interest makes sense. Pick the brains of the people who worked alongside McVay, regarded as one of football’s brightest offensive minds. In his end-of-the-year chat with reporters Monday, Steelers Team President Art Rooney II didn’t hide that fact.
“It’s a successful system,” Rooney said when asked about the McVay and Kyle Shanahan trees, via 93.7 The Fan. “There’s no two ways about it. Those guys have had a lot of success, and their approach to offensive football has been pretty impressive. I’m not gonna say we’re only gonna talk to people that come off of that tree, but certainly worth talking to those guys.”
To Rooney’s point, the Steelers haven’t made that a prerequisite in their search. Two of the three men they’ve actually interviewed don’t have direct ties. Arthur Smith has more of an old-school approach while Jerrod Johnson doesn’t have direct ties, though he’s worked alongside former San Francisco 49ers Pass Game Coordinator Bobby Slowik in Houston, now the Texans’ offensive coordinator. By Kevin Bacon rules, there’s a connection. Perhaps the team will also interview the 49ers’ Klint Kubiak, though no reporting indicates that’s imminent.
Pittsburgh’s following the rest of the league. Anyone coaching under McVay or Shanahan garners leaguewide interest. Matt LaFleur, Zac Taylor, Brandon Staley, and Kevin O’Connell, and most recently Raheem Morris all became head coaches under McVay while Shane Waldron and Robinson became offensive coordinators. Shanahan worked above McVay in Washington on a star-studded staff that included the likes of Mike McDaniel. His tree also includes Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans on the defensive side of the ball.
Time will tell if the Steelers ultimately make a hire to expand that tree. Robinson is off the board and Smith feels like the favorite over Brown, though it’s impossible to know who the Steelers will actually hire. At the least, it’s good to pick the brains of those men, take an idea (or two), as the Steelers look to jump-start a static offense.
