5 offensive-minded coaches Steelers can hire to replace Mike Tomlin
By John Buhler
Nothing gold can stay. While Mike Tomlin has brought the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise so much success over the better part of two decades now, nothing good can last forever. The Steelers are hovering around .500 heading into the final three weeks of the season. Finishing above .500 has been the calling card of Tomlin's teams the last few years. Unfortunately, that feels no longer good enough.
Saddled with a bad first-round draft pick at quarterback in Kenny Pickett, the Steelers are probably done winning the division as long as guys like Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson call the AFC North home on rival teams. Even the Cleveland Browns seem to have a great head coach in Kevin Stefanski who can regularly navigate the madness often associated with that franchise Jimmy Haslam owns.
As the season winds down, the thought of Tomlin being traded to another team seems more and more like a real possibility. The native Virginian could find the Washington Commanders' situation under new ownership to be rather appealing. Then again, the Steelers may just part ways with Tomlin anyway and try to reset this proud franchise a bit. Either way, Tomlin does not have great job security.
If the Steelers wanted to look for an offensive-minded head coach for one, try these five on for size.
Steelers Rumors: 5 Mike Tomlin replacements with offensive-minded focus
5. Brian Johnson could be the new up-and-comer like Mike Tomlin was
The Philadelphia Eagles have not played up to snuff the last few weeks, but their offensive coordinator Brian Johnson could be up for head-coaching jobs this year anyway. He has been in Philadelphia ever since Nick Sirianni took over for Doug Pederson. Johnson had been on Dan Mullen's 2020 Florida staff that saw Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Kyle Trask all shine big time.
Admittedly, Johnson may be a tad green when it comes to being a head-coaching candidate this offseason, especially for a well-established franchise such as Pittsburgh. Then again, it wasn't like Mike Tomlin or even his predecessor in Bill Cowher were absolutely dripping with coaching experience by the time they took over the operation. Johnson could be the new Tomlin of sorts.
Truth be told, I think there is a really strong possibility that Johnson gets a head-coaching job either this upcoming offseason cycle or next, especially if upwards of eight vacancies become available this winter. He may be a year away from being a year away, but Johnson may be the exact type of offensive mind and up-and-coming head-coaching talent that the Steelers organization is in need of.
The fact I am not ruling out Johnson entirely to Pittsburgh says everything about his candidacy.