The Pomp And Joe Show
11AM - Chris Hoke on the Steelers coaching search; The Limitless Express - Scheelhaase impressed Steelers, 4 Bucs in BA Top 40
22 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Bob, things are getting very exciting in here. I bet you've never been in a place where somebody else is getting their photo taken and not you. Oh, I like it. Smile for the camera, Joe. I will. It's got to be natural, though. I'm getting my photo taken for the Trib Column right now, Lim. It's live and on the air. Isn't this exciting for you as well? It's very exciting.
It is.
It's fun to observe. All right, Bob, I'll try to act natural during this segment.
You've got to smile really good. He's right there. It's so unnatural, but you've got to make it seem natural.
I know. All right, we have Chris Hoke coming on. You want me to talk? Super Bowl champion Chris Hoke, and there's just a couple things going on. What limits? What happened? I just got to connect Hokey. Oh, okay. Well, by the time... Look at the Ron Cook fathead. I know. This is miraculous.
He came in here, Austin wanted to find, but it needs to be raised. Just a little bit, yeah.
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Chapter 2: What are Chris Hoke's thoughts on the Steelers coaching search?
You know what, though? He does look tan, and I think he probably is very tan.
Oh, he's at the beach every day. It's nice at Fort Myers, yes. Every day it's nice. Okay, so when we get Hokie, let's ask him, Bob, who his preferred candidate is. Ask him about the end of the Mike Tomlin era.
and millions of other questions right yeah anthony weaver apparently uh interviewing with others and is a coveted candidate it would seem surprisingly enough i mean he was sort of off my radar when this whole thing started you yeah uh he certainly was on
John Harbaugh's radio. He spoke glowingly about him last year saying he was going to get an opportunity, and if he got one, he would just kill it and do well. So I think he's the guy who I described to you the other day as the CEO mentality guy. That's what everyone seems to say about him. So... You know, and that's a big part of what goes on here.
You've got to be able to have that part of your game in order. But he's a defensive coach. And if you look at the actual numbers, which you can use or not use, but if you use them, you'll probably come away thinking, eh, they're kind of middle of the road.
Here's my question for you. Clint Kubiak as opposed to the other Kubiak. No, Clay. Clay, right. If the idea behind Mike McCarthy, the attraction with Mike McCarthy, and I heard the PM guys had a good conversation about this, is that he's going to develop your next quarterback. He's got a good offensive mind, all of that. I hear that. But why wouldn't you want the younger version of that?
That's what I don't understand. This guy has done a tremendous job with Sam Darnold out in Seattle, right? Now Darnold was already under the tutelage of Kevin O'Connell last year. I get it. But Kubiak's done a great job with that offense. He worked under Kyle Shanahan as the pass game coordinator in San Francisco.
Listen, I'm a guy who's not young anymore, but I'd rather have the younger guy in that role. And then depending on how McCarthy's immediate future plays out, why couldn't you have him as a senior consultant like a Tom Moore type? You know what I mean? That to me, people are talking about Sheil Haas and Shula as the dream combo.
How about having Clint Kubiak as your head coach with Mike McCarthy as your consultant? And then you go out and choose your defensive coordinator and hand somebody the defense. Bob, I think Clint Kubiak. They might interview him. DeFabo said they still might.
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Chapter 3: Why does Chris Hoke prefer Chris Shula for the Steelers?
But also, I do like that role with McCarthy, like you said. But I don't know if he'd be willing to do it. Maybe he would be willing to do it. Because, I mean, what else are you going to do? He's a football lifer. And he's in his hometown and all this stuff. So he might be interested in doing that.
But when you're being interviewed for the head coach, I don't think your thoughts are, I'm going to be a consultant here. No doubt.
No doubt, but I don't know what other, does he have any other opportunities as a head coach or even a coordinator?
I don't know. You know, there are a lot of jobs still wide open. It doesn't seem like some of these cities are getting enough play. I don't know who's interviewing. Have you heard a list of Arizona candidates? No, I haven't even paid attention to Arizona. Actually, I'm going to look just because I want to see what's going on there.
Let's bring in the Hokenator. Is he coming in by video or what are we doing here? He's on the phone. He's on the phone. He's on the Sullivan Super Service fan hotline, Pittsburgh's trusted plumbing and HVAC provider for over 50 years. Hello, Dr. Hokenstein. Hey, what's going on, guys? Not much, man. It's just Bob and I in the studio with a Ron Cook fathead sitting next to us.
Well, I'll tell you what, it's almost as good as having the wrong cooking studio, isn't it?
Almost. Almost. So, Hokie, who's your preferred candidate of the known candidates? Let's start with that one.
You know what? I'll tell you what, that's a loaded question. But I would take, you know, for me, it would be the D.C. out in San Francisco. I think he's doing that. I'm sorry, out in the Rams. I like him. He's young. He fits the mold, kind of the guy the Steelers have always kind of gone after traditionally. And I like the shell house, like you said earlier.
I like bringing him in as the opposite coordinator. But the Steelers can be patient here. There's a lot of there's a lot of guys out here. And I think the Steelers might be able to land who they want at the end of the day.
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Chapter 4: What impressed the Steelers about Nate Scheelhaase during his interview?
A lot of times you'll hear names of ones that they're interested in. He's just not one for some reason. You can't be interested in 10 guys. You've got to whittle this thing down. Did I read, Paul, that he was kind of a guy in Baltimore, that he was a leading guy out there?
So was Anthony Weaver, and so was Flores. All these guys have been down there, all defensive guys.
They're all great coaches. Here's my thought, though, on this coach. I heard you guys talking about McCarthy. I like the idea of bringing McCarthy in. I think Tom Moore, like what Starchy was saying. I just don't see the Steelers bringing in a coach who's been a head coach before.
I think they want to bring a young guy in, whether it's offense or defense, that's innovative, that's got great, great background, part of a great coaching tree. and go that route. I just don't think that they'll go a head coach. And I can be wrong, but I just don't see them going a head coach who's already been head coach before.
Chris Hoke on the Sullivan Super Service fan hotline, Super Bowl champion. Fan Twitter brought to you by South Hills Kia Peters Township. Visit them at SouthHillsKia.net. The text line brought to you by Edgar Snyder & Associates, a personal injury law firm where they always say there's never a fee unless we get money for you.
Well, Hokie, you could argue that there's one open position that's even more important than coach, and that's quarterback. And I want to play you something that Ben Roethlisberger said on his podcast, Footballin'. So take a listen to this clip, and we'll get your reaction. I think it starts with him saying, you know, he would prefer if Rodgers came back. He'd like that. But in lieu of that...
I don't think it hurts to try and bring Aaron back. If you can, if he wants to, for another year, for the reason of helping Will Howard to grow for another year. That's scenario one. If Aaron is back, then I have no problem with Aaron coming back and helping Will Howard for another year. And if Will stays healthy, he's your number two. He might get some reps in. He'll get...
all the reps in the preseason. He'll get lots of reps in practice in games where either one way or another, you just never know. He's going to get his reps. If Aaron's not in the scenario, I would go with Will Howard this year. But what I would do is I would bring in a veteran quarterback that is like a league minimum type quarterback that is a great teammate, a guy that can still help
you can plug and play if you need to yeah right so if will gets dinged or if it's like hey struggling a little bit i'm thinking of guys like marcus mariota i'm thinking of guys like carson wentz and then and then you're like okay this can kind of help and and just keep growing will because again will's a fifth or six rounder like six rounder that cut off abruptly uh he's endorsing will howard what do you think of that hokey
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Chapter 5: How does Chris Hoke view the future of the Steelers' coaching staff?
We haven't seen anything yet. But I tend to agree with Ben that the Steelers need to build this team up. and find a way to keep that position serviceable until they find their franchise quarterback. But they've got to be able to, if they're going to bring a franchise quarterback in, Starkey, they've got to have a supporting eligible group that can help them out.
Right now, I don't know what the eligibles they have right now can help them out.
Well, that's what they need to change in this draft come up. They can certainly address what they need on offense to build a better roster on offense, and then they can worry about the quarterback situation. So you're saying you would not want Aaron Rodgers back regardless?
No, I didn't say that. No, I'm fine with that approach. I'm just saying I think they need to work on their eligibles. And like Ben said later in his podcast, You know, if you don't draft a quarterback right away, get some eligibles there, get some guys around him. And maybe Rogers can help do that and help bring those guys along, too, because he's such a great leader.
And then when you have some pieces. then bring in that quarterback because you're setting them up for success. If you bring them in now with, you know, really only having the eligible of DK Metcalf, you can't go up and catch combat catches, you know, drops balls every game.
You want to have a couple more eligibles that are reliable, dependable guys that can really be highly productive so that when a young guy comes in, you set him up for success.
One name that hasn't been mentioned this entire two minutes is Mason Rudolph, and I know you're a big supporter of Mason. I still think that there's something there, but Ben didn't mention him. He mentioned Marcus Mariota.
What role, let's say Rodgers doesn't come back, how do you see this quarterback room working with what they have and what they need to, and who would be another guy you'd add to your roster?
Honestly, that caught me too when Ben said that. I thought Ben would say Mason, but for some reason he didn't. I mean, you know, I think Mason's better than those guys, Mariota, and I think Mason's better than Carson Wentz, who's way past his prime. But I think that, you know, Mason can be that guy. I think Mason's a great teammate.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of hiring an offensive-minded coach for the Steelers?
I didn't count on it, but I could be here for you guys.
No, this is getting awkward now. Limits, why didn't you tell me he was only on for one second?
When? Before the show.
Bob.
I wasn't here. I cannot be used as a... Limit. I did not hear you say that.
Plus, we just talked. I got in your ear about five minutes ago, and we talked about what we wanted to do moving forward, and I said, did you want to do that next? And you said, yes. Okay. Which also means... All right, Bob.
This has become awfully awkward.
Chris, when he gets back in the studio, we'll do it the full hour. Are you going to be back next week by any chance?
We'll just talk off air.
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Chapter 7: What are the Pittsburgh Pirates' prospects in Baseball America's Top 100?
And that he gave off some Mike Tomlin vibes. So, Joe, I know that we've really had some momentum building for Sheilhaus on this show.
do you think with the verbiage that we keep hearing and even though he's a young guy never called plays that shiel house might be the best candidate for the job for them man the first thing i think about here is what kind of sources jerry has got to be deep inside to know what kind of interview it was because there's only a handful of people who would know that secondly bob
I've said from the very beginning that this isn't about where Chris Shula's defense ranked or if Sheil Haas has ever called plays at the NFL level. And I'm with this line of thinking. It's about you and I sitting in a room, this room, and we're doing job interviews for a third guy on our show.
And somebody walks through that door right there next to us and immediately has a presence about them that we're looking for. That's what this is about. I don't know if it's true with this guy, but that's what it's about. I think.
No question. You have to make a first impression. That saying about first impressions still exists and is powerful. If you come in there and that's what you're... All you have to go by is this conversation you're having. Some people do it very well. Some don't. That does not mean the players or the coaches who don't do it well don't know what they're doing.
They obviously do, but they just don't have that... that charisma that it takes to impress future employers. So that's the first step. Then I think they need to go deeper into this and find out some other things about the fact that he hasn't called plays. What would it look like if you were? What kind of offense are you going to put out there? And what do you like to do in certain situations?
And I'm sure they run through every situation with them. What happens if it's third and 10 from this? Or how about if you're in second and 20 and you're in field goal? And he's going to have to come up with good answers for all of that because that's why these meetings take like six hours. They're not short. So they go through a lot of stuff. But, yeah, that's the first step for him.
Next up on the marquee, Baseball America has released its 2026 Top 100 Prospects list. And not one, not two Bob, not three Bob, but four Pirates are in the top 40. Connor Griffin, of course, is number one. Bubba Chandler is number 15. Edward Florentino, a 19-year-old outfielder, is 28. And Seth Hernandez, the first-round pick from a year ago, is number 38.
Holy ostrich milk, Bob.
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Chapter 8: How does the Pirates' prospect list reflect their rebuilding strategy?
You limit?
Yeah, I don't think he will. I would also wait a month unless they get the contract done with him before the start of the year, and then I would have him there.
Wait, I thought you said you'd... I thought you said the contract you'd sign right now.
Yes, the contract I would sign right now. Why wouldn't you bring him up right now? Because if you don't have the contract signed, I would rather delay his return for the year of control.
But here's the problem with these contracts.
The year of control is going to happen a decade from now.
I don't care. But here's the thing. You can tell, and these guys do listen to their agents. When you see deals like Juan Soto's, when you see these deals that are coming out, for example, Kyle Tucker, if you're him... He's still going to, he already made a nice signing bonus to begin with. He's going to go through the process. If his agent says, wait two years, see where you are.
And that could be the advice he's going to take. He'll say that, I'm not talking about that, I just want to play. And if he plays well, guess what that price would turn into? There's two ways to look at this. Yes, the Pirates would like to maybe do it earlier.
They would say, I could get to arbitration, and if I'm as good as I think I am or they think I am, I'm going to go into arbitration going from making $800,000 to making $40 million because the arbitration scales are headed in that direction. Yeah, in the final year, $40 million in that final year before he's a free agent. And then you're looking at what? And by then, he'll only be 25 years old.
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