The Pomp And Joe Show
11AM - Nick Farabaugh on the Steelers coaching carousel outlook; Do Steelers fans really just want Will Howard to play next year?
20 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Nick, it's a pleasure to have you. I don't believe we've ever spoken before. You're a recent graduate of Slippery Rock. Am I right about that? No. What a moment in time that was. Fan Twitter brought to you by South Hills Kia Peters Township. Visit them at SouthHillsKia.net.
And 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. Nick Farabaugh from PennLive.com. Nick, we had a YouTube commenter say that I was short of material today, and I told him that there's never been such obvious material in all my time on the air. The Steelers need a coach.
I don't have to search for material today. It's sitting right in front of me. Of the known candidates, who is your preferred choice?
My favorite would be Chris Shula. That's who I'd hire if I were the Pittsburgh Steelers. He fits the profile that they've gone to the last three times. That's not the only reason. I think he is the type of coach right now in the NFL that is on vogue in some respects. We are seeing a lot of Really good defensive coaches start to rise up against the offensive wave.
You know, there's the McVeigh's, there's the Cohen's, there's the Shanahan's, but there's also Mike McDonald's. There's those types now. And Shula, I think, fits into that branch really well. He has access to the McVeigh tree. And he's not just a guy that has been in the NFL for four years. You know, he's been on that staff since 2017.
You look at the profile he has put together as a position coach. He's coached outside linebackers, inside linebackers, secondary. He's coached defensive line. He's coached every single level of the defense. And every single year he coached a position group, a guy had a career year. Outside linebacker, it was Dante Fowler. Inside linebacker, Ernest Jones became what he is now in Seattle.
He has coached up guys that have become really good players. The secondary Quinton Lake has now become one of the best nickels in the NFL. He coached him up there. That's all him. And so that's what he does. He has a tried and true resume of development. And then he gets more than he has in terms of talent on the football field. The last two years, the Rams were 32nd in defensive spending.
And yet success rate, EPA per play, different stats like that. They were generally a top 10 defense.
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Chapter 2: Who does Nick Farabaugh suggest as the next Steelers head coach?
They get a lot of sacks. They force turnovers. There's a lot there with him. I think that is really promising as a coach. And then as a defensive coach, he has access to a lot of good assistance. I think the Shula Sheilhaus kind of branch, that sounds like a really good idea to me.
Chapter 3: What makes Chris Shula a strong candidate for the Steelers?
Hiring Chris Shula as your head coach, Nathan Sheilhaus comes in as your OC. I think that's really smart. And then maybe you can bring in, you know, a guy like Raheem Morris as the defensive coordinator. That's a really strong start to his staff.
Do you think that's what the Steelers want to do? Shula seems to be the Vegas favorite right now. And do you think that Sheil Haas would be that this would be his best opportunity? Or do you think somebody may offer him a head coaching job?
I don't think Sheil House is going to get a head coaching job this year. I think he's a year or two away from that. I think teams are still hesitant to give it to a guy that's never called plays at this level. I think that is fair. He has been an offensive coordinator, but it was at Iowa State. I think they want to see it happen at the NFL level. And so he could have a great year next year.
The Steelers would be gone. But I do think the Steelers ā would love that Shula-Shielhouse pairing. I think that is something that is really appealing to them given the buzz Shielhouse is getting and given where Shula is in terms of the development and the tree that he can bring. I think that is very appealing to them, yes.
So let me think about this for a moment. It would be a defensive guy. We don't know if Shielhouse would come in with Shula, so let's just focus on Shula first. We just talked about this topic because if you have a defensive guy, then you have to have the right offensive coordinator, presumably to develop a younger quarterback. And then there's always the risk of that guy leaving.
So the the constant question, the question looming over all of this is is is. Is this the time the Steelers should choose an offensive head coach who knows how to develop quarterbacks? And that way you're coordinator proof, if you know what I mean. You don't have to worry about guys leaving, whatever, because your head coach, you know, has the background on that. What do you make of that?
I'm just not sure there's a candidate that I can describe in that manner on the offensive market this year. I just don't see that. If there was a Ben Johnson, if there was a Liam Cohen, I'd be all for it. There's not. I think that is kind of my ā when I talk with people about offensive coaches, I understand that.
If there was a really good, great offensive coach candidate on the market, I think that it would be a lot more appealing to do that. I just think right now you don't have that on the market. I mean, Sheil House has never called plays at this level. You know, Udinski has never called plays if you wanted to go to Jacksonville. Cohen calls the plays there.
Clay Kubiak, who they interviewed, again, doesn't call plays. Shanahan calls plays. The one guy that is maybe most in that vein would be Clint Kubiak. The Steelers can't interview him yet because there's a wrinkle in the CBA. That means they can't interview him until they want to, I believe, after the Super Bowl. boy, I think it's like February 8th or something.
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Chapter 4: Why should the Steelers consider hiring an offensive coach?
He's only worked under Shanahan. This guy was a high school football coach five years ago. That, to me, a little concerning, a little inexperienced, especially with a young quarterback. If you're bringing in a young quarterback and you want to build around that quarterback,
I'm always like, you know, that guy needs to have some experience, some legit tenure, some legit influences from multiple areas, usually to fix that in. And so to me, inexperience can be a little bit intriguing, sure, because of the new shiny thing, but it can also be terrifying. You don't want to just hire a guy because he's the new young up and comer.
So you got to make sure in that interview that they have a clear vision, that they understand their limitations and they understand how they want to learn underneath their own staff, even though they're the head guy. There's a lot of self-awareness that goes into that if you're going to hire a really young head coach.
Listen to the Pomp and Joe Show on demand on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Farabaugh from PennLive. He's on YouTube. He's also on the Fan Hotline, presented by Sullivan Super Service, providing trusted plumbing and HVAC service for over 50 years. What about the other arguably more important opening at quarterback, Nick?
I'm almost inclined just to have Rudolph and Will Howard trade Watt, get rid of Ramsey, try my best to get rid of Metcalf, although it's probably impossible, and just sort of have a reset. Or maybe go 9-8 and get blown out of the first round again. But I'm not so sure that's the worst idea. What about quarterback and what about a franchise reset?
Yeah, well, here's the thing about quarterback. The Steelers, as Bart Rooney said, are not going to lose. They're going to try and sign someone. So I just do not see them going in with Rudolph and Howard. Would you? I think they're going to draft someone. No, I wouldn't either. What's there to learn about Rudolph, I guess, is my question. I would rather sign Malik Willis.
Nothing, but there's a lot to learn about Howard.
Sure, but if I'm going to sign a young guy, give me Malik Willis. That's a guy that could legitimately turn into the long-term answer.
Did both of you guys know that Bob Pompeiani was on the air yesterday and said that he doesn't know that there's a big difference between Mendoza and Will Howard? Do you guys agree with that? He said it. Go look at 130, 133. I'm not saying some people may agree. I don't know. Do you agree, Nick?
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