Steelers President Art Rooney II Unhurried In Decision On Next Head Coach

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering a new era. With the recent news about the departure of now former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin settling in over the sports world, Pittsburgh is beginning the search for the franchise's next head coach. Whichever candidate is selected will be only the fourth head coach since 1969 in the organization's storied history, and with all the names going around right now as potential candidates, there's a lot of work to be done and a long process to follow to ensure the Steelers select the right person for the job.

Everyone in the front office knows this will take a long time to solidify, especially President Art Rooney II, as he and the rest of the ownership will have to sit down and interview candidates thoroughly. Rooney himself held a press conference early Wednesday afternoon to discuss the plans for the franchise moving forward, and part of the remarks he gave were about the plans for the next head coach of the Steelers, along with the process they would take in their search.

Rooney's comments show that he's aware of what the process will entail, and that he's not going to make any hasty decisions. This is already a great thing to hear from Rooney, but he continued his statement on just how the Steelers are approaching the head coaching decision.

"You know, for now, I don't want to, sort of, put any sort of real parameters around it," Rooney said. "We're gonna be an open book in terms of who we look for, and the list that we build. Can I sign up for another Chuck Noll, or another Bill Cowher, or another Mike Tomlin? Sure, somebody that we feel fits that mold would be great. But for now, we're not gonna narrow the box too much."

Rooney's comments should be a sigh of relief to most Steelers fans. The last thing many fans wanted was for the Steelers to hire someone internally, and from Rooney's comments, it seems like that might not be the case. Another reason fans should be relieved and slightly excited is that Rooney detailed that he wasn't going to necessarily look for the exact same style of coach that the Steelers have had in the past. This might be an entirely new direction the Steelers take, and there's always the potential that it could work out better than anyone imagined.

For right now though, the Steelers will be taking their time with finding the perfect candidate, and as the team continues its search for the next head coach, there will be plenty of questions to answer regarding other elements about the future of the franchise. 

It seems likely that whoever the Steelers eventually bring in as the next head coach will want to bring in their own coaching staff, which means the current staff will be forced to find new jobs elsewhere. For some fans, this is the option that they would want the Steelers to pursue, with how the current staff had many moments where it seemed like games were directly lost by poor play-calling at certain times. On top of this, the Steelers are going to need to sort out the quarterback position going into next season. There's a lot of work ahead of Rooney II and the Steelers, and thankfully, Rooney II is adamant about the team taking its time to find the next head coach.

Steelers Should Completely Reset By Hiring A Different Mind At Head Coach

Rooney's comments about how it would be great for the team to hire another version of the last head coaches sounds great, in theory, considering that each of the last three Steelers head coaches established a winning culture and won a Super Bowl. However, this time around, it would be better for the Steelers to adapt to how the NFL has evolved and hire an offensive-minded head coach. With luck, many of them will be under consideration.

What did you think about Rooney II's comments about the search for the next head coach? Let us know in the comments below.

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