Steelers Reportedly Will Bring In Critical Candidate After Conference Title Game For In-Person Interview

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been looking to land their fourth head coach since 1969 in franchise history, and the interviews have continued to stack up with potential candidates. The Steelers still have a lot of work to do with whittling down the choices to the ones that the ownership likes, and while Steelers President Art Rooney II has been incredibly patient with the hiring process, the team will need to ensure they don't let the loss of other candidates to other teams make them feel a new sense of urgency. Should the Steelers make a move too soon, it could spell disaster for the franchise.

However, the Steelers will be getting their chance at two of their potential top choices for head coach soon. A lot of the hopes of the franchise are riding on Sunday night's NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, seeing as Rams Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula and Rams Pass Game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase are two of the top candidates for head coach. These two aren't just top candidates for the Steelers either, but are looked at as two of the top candidates throughout the entirety of the teams still searching for their next head coach.

Thankfully, the Steelers appear to be getting their chance at an in-person interview with at least one of them, according to what insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke about in a recent article.

"It is expected that at least one of the Los Angeles Rams assistants — defensive coordinator Chris Shula and Pass Game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase — will get a second interview after Sunday’s NFC championship game in Seattle."

No matter how the game between the Rams and Seahawks ends, the one week gap in between the conclusion of the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl will serve as an excellent time to bring in one of these top candidates for in-person interviews. The Steelers will likely not be the only team that both Shula and Scheelhaase choose to meet with, so their availability will be fairly limited. Regardless of the availability, according to Dulac, at least one of them will be in Pittsburgh for an in-person interview.

The important thing to remember is that if Shula and Scheelhaase's Rams happen to go to the Super Bowl, is that both of them will be focused on planning around winning the Super Bowl. This is why there are a lot of comments around the Steelers fan base and media regarding the hope that the Rams lose to the Seahawks. This way, both Shula and Scheelhaase are completely focused on the interviews they'll be having with the teams remaining.

Nonetheless, the Steelers will need to continue to remain fairly patient in their head-coaching search. This one week of being able to bring in Shula and Scheelhaase will need to be a thorough interview, especially if the two may potentially be heading to the Super Bowl. If either of them impress Rooney II and the rest of the Steelers' leadership, they'll need to ensure that they get another in-person interview before making a decision on either one of them, or another candidate that they've interviewed so far. 

If the Rams happen to get to the Super Bowl, and the Steelers have successfully interviewed at least one of them, then watching the Super Bowl becomes important for Steelers leadership.

Steelers Should Watch The Super Bowl To Analyze Performance Of Candidates

A very important factor to a Rams appearance in the Super Bowl would be the ability of Rooney II and the front office to watch how Shula and Scheelhaase perform with their game plans. Should they form a plan that leads the Rams to victory, their value as potential head coaches will go way up. This is why the Steelers should take their time with their interviews of Shula and/or Scheelhaase.

What did you think of Dulac's article? Let us know in the comments below.

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