The Pittsburgh Steelers had a feeling that with his pedigree, Brian Flores wouldn't be having much of an extended stay in the city. Both head coach, Mike Tomlin and the players have talked about what a tremendous impact the former Miami Dolphins head coach and longtime New England Patriots assistant had in his short tenure with the squad.
Photo Credit: Matt Freed/ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers former senior linebackers coach smiling at a training camp practice at St Vincent College.
In a conversation with former Steelers offensive lineman, Max Starks, at the NFL 2023 Annual League Meetings in Arizona, Tomlin detailed the team's experience with the veteran coach in Flores, who is off to the Minnesota Vikings, and the decision to bring in up-and-coming hotshot coach, Aaron Curry over from the Seattle Seahawks to take over the vacant inside linebackers coach position.
"Our experience with coach Flores was an awesome one and I don't necessarily know that I anticipated him being here for a long time," Tomlin said. "Any day that we can have someone with his capabilities in the capacity that he was, was a good day for us. We were excited about having him for a year and weren't really surprised when he moved on."
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What Attracted The Steelers To Aaron Curry?
Tomlin said that in his approach to finding a replacement for Flores, it was important to find someone different.
Photo Credit: Ted S. Warren / AP
Steelers' new inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry at practice with his former employer the Seattle Seahawks.
"It would be very difficult to replace Flores in the same profile of the person," Tomlin said. "I just simply pivoted and changed the profile, that way players are not comparing coach Curry to coach Flores. Aaron is a young guy that brings young guy energy with a playing career and things of that nature. He's a physical coach on the field."
The veteran coach said it reminded him of a time when he had a rising up-and-coming younger wide receivers coach in Scottie Montgomery move on to become the associate head coach and passing game coordinator for his alma mater the Duke Blue Devils. Instead of trying to find another potential prodigy to mold, he brought in experienced veteran coach Richard Mann to replace the now-assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Detroit Lions.
"Sometimes when you lose an outstanding coach with a certain profile, sometimes it's just best to change the profile so that the other person can be themselves," he reiterated. "You aknowledge the change as a part of it and so when it's different from a profile standpoint none of us spends any time comparing the likes and differences, it's just simply the work."
While it's way too early to make any real judgments on what kind of effect the transitions on the coaching staff have for the roster next year, the team made changing up their group at inside linebacker a priority in the early stages of free agency. Curry, with his pedigree as a former fourth-overall pick in the NFL Draft, will be an important resource for the new guys as they get used to their new surroundings.
Do you agree with Tomlin that it's better to replace a young up-and-coming coach with a veteran or vice-versa? Do you like the addition of Curry to the staff? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
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