Who would we get to replace Tomlin?

This was brought up in another thread and I thought it may make for a pretty interesting thread of its own. If the Rooneys did fire Tomlin, who would get your vote to replace him? We may find that there are some pretty good candidates out there and then again we may find that we need to stick with Coach T. Good NFL head coaches don't grow on trees.

But, I have two people in mind. One is Bill O'Brien. He inherited a mess at Penn State and made it tolerable. He is someone that has proven that he can take a bad situation and turn it around. He held the team together in the midst of adversity. Plus he got in Marsha Brady's grill in New England and I've loved the guy ever since, lol.

Second, how about Mike McCarthy. I know, I know, he's currently the HC in Green Bay and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But he's a Pittsburgh guy and coaching the Steelers may appeal to him. It may not be realistic but this is a wish list which aren't realistic at times.

Other suggestions?

 

Lovie Smith? He took Rex Grossman to the Super Bowl. Rex isn't a good QB. He had an egotistical crybaby jerk as his QB in Jay Cutler, which is what I think got him fired. I'd give Smith a shot. But, that's just my opinion.

 

Like NB said, I'm not ready to make the move yet, but...

Mike Zimmer would be my first choice. He reminds me of Lebeau in the way his players love to go to war for him, but I think he's a little grittier than Dick is. I think he has the attitude, the knowledge, to do it... and knows how to connect with players. He's taken guys that nobody else wanted like Burfict, Reggie Nelson, Pacman, Newman... and revived their careers.

I was going to say Gus Bradley, and then I realized he was hired by JAX. But if he got the hook in JAX in a year or two it'd be worth looking into. I LOVE the defense in Seattle, and the way they just beat you up. I'd take a few PI flags a game to have receivers scared.

 

Bill Cowher!!!

Cajun-

 

If I could have any coach in the NFL besides Tomlin, who I do NOT want to see fired, I would take Mike McCarthy. I think he's a no-nonsense guy and he's a Pittsburgh guy. He's also a decisive guy. He had one of the greatest qb's in all history and he let him go in favor of Aaron Rodgers and it has paid dividends. I'm not saying I would want him to get rid of Ben. I'm just saying that he seems much more decisive than Tomlin. One thing about the Packers though is they don't have a very good o-line either and Rodgers makes a lot of plays out of the pocket with his legs. So is McCarthy made to look better by the fact that he has a great qb or does McCarthy have a lot to do with Rodger's success? But I'm in no way in favor of getting rid of Tomlin. I actually want to see what Tomlin looks like as a coach after DL is gone and I would like to see how he drafts a qb when Ben is gone. I really think that what he does in drafting a qb will ultimately be what sets him apart from Cowher. I would just like to know if Tomlin prefers a game manager to a straight up stud.

 

LOL. The Rooney's should just build a whole coaching staff of message board detractors.

 

If the offense continues on it's downward trajectory Haley will be fired long before Tomlin.

 

I agree.

 

No you wouldn't want Lovie. All I get to see are Bears games and Lovie paid no attention to the offense while he was here. Granted that made for some pretty good defenses that caused turnovers, (which the steelers could use) but he let Terry Shea, Ron Turner (not Norv), Mike Martz, and Mike Tice have free reign on the offense.

I wouldn't mind Ray Horton, Bill O'Brien, or to stay in house Keith Butler, or even Randy Fitchner (I know big jump from QB coach to head coach).

 

Agreed

 

Blast Furnace!

Why? Because he's an eternal optimist, stays calm and cool under pressure and never gets rattled!

 

here's a concept. instead of mike tomlin and john Mitchell as the assistant head coach, both defensive guys, we bring in an assistant head coach that's an offensive mind.

 

Tony Dungie, Cowher

 

You got it!

We can negotiate salary later...

 

i'm not sure he even needs to be rb coach here let alone OC.

 

I brought this topic up with the wife on Sunday, after the horrific loss. I said Bill O'brien would be the choice. He's got the fire in him. He was chewing out Hackenburg on Saturday, very Cowher esque.

 

Ahh the latest trend in NFL fandom is to cry for an offensive minded head coach. Eight out of the twelve head coaches that made the playoffs last year came from defensive backgrounds and 7 of 12 the year before. I believe it was 8 of 12 the year before that. I just don't see any evidence to support that argument. Your background doesn't matter. You need players that fit your scheme, competent people around you, and a little luck(think injuries or lack there of) to make it all work.

 

his backs can't learn ball security. that's coaching. even sunday the way redman was carrying the ball. they still have not learned to do it and that's RB 101. we knew it was a problem last year and it's still a problem this year. add to the fact he's never been an OC in this league and I just don't think he's a good fit here.