Monday, January 22, 2007
It's Official: Mike Tomlin is the Next Steelers Head Coach.
(The Burgh - January 22, 2007) - After a wild weekend of speculation and rumor, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally made it official today and formally announced that a press conference will be held at 3:30pm to introduce the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers - Mike Tomlin. The press release can be seen at Steelers.com , while the press conference audio comes from the pittsburghchannel.com.Tomlin will become the 16th head coach in Steelers history after coaching as defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings in 2006. Today's press conference will take place at Steelers headquarters at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Grimm Truth: Tribune-Review takes down story.
(The Burgh - January 21, 2007) - After a wild day of rumor and speculation which included Mike Prisuta standing by his story that Russ Grimm would be named the new head coach of the Steelers, it appears as if the story has been removed from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review's home page around 9:15pm Sunday evening.With Prisuta's story removed, it seems more and more likely that Mike Tomlin will, in fact, be named the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow.
Update: The Next Steelers Head Coach / My Head Hurts.
(The Burgh - January 21, 2007) - While the rest of us watched the AFC & NFC Championship games today, the rumors on who will be the next Steelers coach were flying fast & furious. To quash continued speculation on who would be the next coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the official site of the Steelers - www.steelers.com - posted a short, but sweet, message on the site eary Sunday morning from spokesman Dave Lockett that read:"At this point and time, the Steelers have not concluded a contract agreement with a new head coach, nor do we expect to do so today. There will be no other announcements from this office today.
Enjoy Championship Sunday!"
The actual article can be seen here. However, if the Steelers expected the rumor mill to take the day off, they were sadly mistaken. First, Jay Glazer of foxsports.com published a report just after noon that the Steelers and Tomlin had commenced contract negotations, then the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted a similar article, also claiming that Tomlin would fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow for a formal announcement and press conference.
Just after 8:30pm tonight, Jay Glazer updated his article, claiming the sides were closed to a 4-year deal in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars, roughly the same amount that Cam Cameron agreed to with the Miami Dolphins.
Meanwhile, on the Russ Grimm front, Mike Prisuta at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is holding on to his "breaking" story that Grimm will be named the Steelers new head coach tomorrow.
One thing seems certain after the Chicago Bears advanced to Super Bowl XLI earlier today, putting Ron Rivera's second interview on hold for at least two more weeks - and that is either Tomlin or Grimm will be named at the new Steelers coach either Monday or Tuesday.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Tomlin AND Grimm Both Named as Next Steelers Head Coach!
(The Burgh - January 20, 2007) - Although the Pittsburgh Steelers have not formally announced who the next head coach will be, I am pleased to tell you it will be.....Mike Tomlin AND Russ Grimm.
If you don't believe me, then read the conflicting reports by SI, ESPN, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, all who claim getting the inside scoop by infamous, unnamed "sources". Although, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, quoting Dan Rooney, says a decision has not yet been made. In this day of journalistic one-upmanship, it comes as no surprise that people are willing to "break" a story, even if there are no substantive facts or "named" sources to base it on.
What is sad about the three stories is that fact that they are all incorrect. That is, unless the Rooneys have already made up their mind just one day before the third candidate, Ron Rivera, could be made available for a second interview (assuming the Chicago Bears lose to New Orleans in the NFC Championship). I, for one amongst many here in the Burgh, don't see the methodical and patient Rooney family making a decision about the next head coach until the outcome of the game is known.
And even after the NFC Champion is crowned, there is still no guarantee that the Steelers will rush to name Tomlin or Grimm the next head coach before interviewing Rivera after Super Bowl XLI in two weeks. Especially since neither candidate is a finalist for any of the other head coaching vacancies remaining in the NFL (who wants to coach in Oakland, anyways?). So, I ask you: what exactly is the rush to name the new head coach today?
As Steelers fans, most of us haven't been sleeping well during this seemingly endless search for our new coach, so the last 24 hours have been nothing short of a mind-boggling. One thing is for sure, sometime within the next week or two, we will finally know who or man is. Until then, we can all speculate as to who it will be - and, unfortunately, some have chosen to push this speculation further than we might have ever imagined.
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