Larod Stephens-Howling Says He’s Making A Quick Recovery

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Running Back LaRod Stephens-Howling tore his ACL during the season opener versus the Tennessee Titans. Since then, we haven’t heard much about LSH. This week, he spoke with his local newspaper about his injury, and his plan for the future.

Stephens-Howling says that his recovery has been ahead of schedule during the entire rehab process. “I’ve been feeling great. The rehabbing is going great…I’ve been ahead of schedule. I feel pretty strong.”, he told the Tribune-Democrat. When asked about the time-table for his return, he said, “I feel like I’m real close to being 100 percent. They’re saying definitely by February.” That’s great news for the former Pitt running back, but very early on the recovery calendar- only 4 1/2 months after his injury.

“One of my trainers told me my strength is back to where it needs to be to start playing football again and it hasn’t even been five months.”

He said he worked diligently with a machine at home until he was out of crutches. On top of being at the Steelers facility all week, he goes to the gym and does extra work with a trainer.  He credits that combination to the speed of his recovery.

When Stephens-Howling is cleared by doctors, he’ll be a free agent, at which time he hopes the Steelers will have a place for him. He said that his main goal right now is to be ready by summer.

Troy Polamalu To Miss Pro Bowl Due To Injury

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Troy Polamalu, one of 3 strong safeties selected to the Pro Bowl last month, will not be attending after all due to an injury. Many players cite a new “injury” as a reason for declining to go to the Pro Bowl, but ultimately, the team’s medical staff has to sign off on it. There have been no reports of an injury to Troy, and he saw more snaps this year than he has since 2008. He’s probably nursing a minor injury of some sort though, and will be starting his off-season workout regimine in no time.

Polamalu’s absence adds yet another Cleveland Browns player to the Pro Bowl roster. Browns Safety T.J. Ward will take Troy’s place in Hawaii. Antonio Brown is now the only player representing the Steelers in the Pro Bowl this year.

The new Pro Bowl format is non-conferenced, and team captains will pick their rosters starting tonight on the NFL Network. This is an attempt to gain interest from fans, which has been extremely low as of late. I wonder if the NFL has toyed with the idea of having viewers vote on the plays via social media…sort of like a live action Madden. It would probably get more fans interested in the event, though, I’m not sure players would be thrilled about it.

Kirby Wilson To Interview For Ravens Offensive Coordinator Opening

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According to the Ravens team website, John Harbaugh says that Steelers Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson will be interviewing for the Ravens offensive coordinator opening later this week. The Ravens have interviewed several candidates for the opening, including former Redskins Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and former Lions Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan.

Wilson was rumored to be one of the top candidates for the Titans offensive coordinator opening, but the Titans never requested an interview with him. Kirby Wilson was involved in offensive game planning last season, and Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome has recently stated that the Ravens have been disappointed with their run game as of late, so that could perhaps explain their interest in Wilson. Of course, it may also just be a little due diligence of sorts.

Wilson is under contract, so the Steelers would have had to grant the Ravens permission to interview him.

*Update  Bob Labriola confirms that the Steelers granted the Ravens permission to interview Wilson.

**2nd Update Ed Bouchette reports that Wilson’s interview is tomorrow.

Steelers Host Two For Workouts

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The Steelers had two former Pitt players in for workouts yesterday according to Adam Caplan on Twitter.

ILB Scott McKillop was drafted in the 5th round of the 2009 draft by the San Francisco 49ers.  He tore his ACL and patellar tendon during training camp in 2010. He would later be waived by the team in 2011.

CB Kennard Cox went undrafted during the 2008 draft and was later signed as an UDFA by the Buffalo Bills. He bounced around on various practice squads for the next couple years, but saw some playing time with the Seahawks in 2010 as a special teamer. Notably, he blocked a punt against the Chiefs that season.

Neither player has been signed.

Ray Horton Hired As Titans DC, Butler Never Interviewed

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Ray Horton has been hired as the new defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Despite all of the fluff that was spun about this story by various outlets, the Titans never even requested permission to interview Keith Butler. As I wrote on Monday, the hype around Butler didn’t really make too much sense, but the story grew legs quickly. One prominent Steelers blogger actually “guaranteed” he would interview wherever Whiz landed. Anyway…

The Whisenhunt/Horton relationship makes perfect sense, and the two joining up in Tennessee seemed very likely. It wouldn’t surprise me if Whiz had his mind set on him as DC while he was interviewing for head coaching jobs. Horton is highly regarded as a defensive coordinator in the league, and was Whisenhunt’s coordinator in Arizona 2011 and 2012.

Horton joined the Steelers in 2004 as an assistant defensive backs coach, before being promoted to defensive backs coach in 2007. Horton runs a 3-4 defensive base, so it will be interesting to see how, and to what extent it’s implemented in Tennessee.

Cortez Allen Earned The Proven Performance Escalator In His Contract

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Cortez Allen has earned the Proven Performance Escalator in his contract. The PPE is an escalator that’s built into all contracts of players signed after the second round of the draft. To earn the escalator, the player has to have played for 35% of their team’s cumulative snaps in his first three seasons, or must have played for 35% of the team’s snaps for 2 out of 3 seasons.

Since Allen did play for over 35% of the team’s cumulative snaps for the past two seasons, he earns the escalator. Basically, his 2014 salary jumps from $645,000 to $1,389,000. That number is the lowest restricted free agent tender determined by the CBA. After adding his guaranteed signing bonus, his 2014 salary cap number is $1,486,875.

34 other players who were selected in rounds 3 though 7 of the 2011 NFL draft earned their Proven Performance Escalators as well.

Titans Hire Offensive Coordinator, Kirby Wilson Didn’t Interview

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The Tennessee Titans have announced the hiring of Jason Michael as their new offensive coordinator.

Michael was the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers where Ken Whisenhunt was offensive coordinator last year. There were rumors that Steelers Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson was at the top of the list of potential candidates for the opening for whatever reason, but the Titans never requested an interview. So much for that one I guess.

Mike Munchak Interviewing With Steelers Today

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I have an update to an earlier report regarding Mike Munchak’s interview for the offensive line coaching vacancy. Mike Prisuta reports that Munchak is in fact interviewing with the Steelers today.

It was reported earlier that the team was going to meet with him about the opening at the Senior Bowl next week. This is good news. Mike Munchak would be a great addition to the Steelers.

Kevin Greene Is Stepping Away From Coaching

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Former Steelers Linebacker Kevin Greene has announced that he is stepping away from coaching. Greene has been the outside linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers since 2009. During that time, the Packers linebackers were 4th in the league for total sacks.

Regarding his decision to step down, Greene said, “I am stepping away from the NFL at this time in order to spend more time with my wife, Tara, and our children, Gavin and Gabrielle. I will miss coaching and will try to return after our kids move on to college if a team will have me.”

Greene was a linebacker for the Steelers from 1993-1995. During that time, he amassed 35.5 sacks. The former outside linebacker is currently a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The third straight year he’s been voted a finalist.