As the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has a long and successful track record. However, one of the biggest knocks against him is that he has virtually no coaching tree. This means that almost no assistants or coordinators on his staff have gone on to become head coaches.
While the merit of that criticism can be debated, it’s an odd fact knowing Tomlin’s heading into his 18th season. A coach rarely lasts that long with one team and doesn’t have a coaching tree. However, that could change, at least according to one coach currently on the staff.
Grady Brown has been the Steelers’ secondary coach since the 2021 season, helping coach players like Terrell Edmunds, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cam Sutton to some of their most productive seasons as Steelers. The Steelers’ secondary had been a glaring weakness for many years after the likes of Troy Polamalu retired. But since Brown arrived, they’ve been better with young players like Joey Porter Jr. beginning to blossom. However, this exceptional work may result in Brown being poached by another team to become their defensive coordinator, as he revealed on From The Hill, a podcast centered around his Alabama A&M alma mater.
”I’ll be ready when my opportunities come, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in the near future,” Brown said. “I’m just making sure that we play good defense in Pittsburgh for now.”
Based on those comments, Brown seems to believe he could have a shot at becoming a defensive coordinator or maybe even a head coach sometime soon. He served as a Senior Bowl defensive coordinator in 2023, so perhaps that experience and spotlight have made the league aware of his talents.
It’s not the first time Brown has made comments alluding to a coordinator future. In early 2023, Brown said he had the skillset to someday become a defensive play caller.
“After being in the NFL for two years now and getting a better handle on the game and seeing what our game is about, I believe I have the talent to be a coordinator at some point in my career,” he said in February of 2023.
It would be a loss for the Steelers, as Brown has been excellent in his role. But that also means he deserves a chance to continue furthering his career. It’s also fair to allow him to take any promotion elsewhere because he still seems focused on making the Steelers the best they can be this year. Last year, the Steelers suffered a laundry list of injuries at safety, and Brown somehow managed to lessen that blow by taking multiple players off the street and coaching them up to the standard. Safety Eric Rowe was among the most notable, playing key snaps down the stretch of the Steelers’ season.
With some luck, the Steelers’ secondary can remain healthy and serve as a strength. Porter could take another step toward stardom under Brown’s guidance, which would make losing him hurt both less and more.
The only hiccup in Brown’s belief has been a lack of interviews. There were zero reports of Brown being interviewed for a coordinator job this past hiring cycle, a mild surprise.
Brown becoming a successful defensive coordinator would silence the people criticizing Tomlin’s coaching tree, but the loss could hurt the team. Just look at the Philadelphia Eagles last year, who replaced both coordinators and looked like a completely different team.
If the Steelers truly don’t have much more time left with Brown, then hopefully he can at least help unlock some of the potential of the younger players before he goes. Replacing him will be much easier if the team is left with multiple young players with a solid foundation in the secondary.
