The Pomp And Joe Show
Rumored top choices still on the board for the Steelers coaching search
23 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Pittsburgh Steelers.
Chapter 2: Why is Mario Cristobal a top candidate for the Steelers coaching search?
I hear, I'm not out here trying to play reporter or doing any of that nonsense, but I hear the Steelers are very interested in Mario Cristobal. And I think the coach at the University of Miami, I think Mario Cristobal actually would really translate to the NFL. I watched his practice in the spring, Jason Taylor coaching the defense line. They got two number one picks on that defense line.
Mario Cristobal coaching the offense line. Their right tackle is going to be a first-round pick. There's talent everywhere on that team. But the way that Mario coached that team reminded me of what old-school coaches used to do. They're limited in the NFL, how many times you put pads on and hit and all that stuff, but they're going to get after it like they did.
And I think Mario could actually transfer to the NFL.
Chapter 3: What insights does Brian Baldinger provide about Cristobal's coaching style?
Donnie, I don't say holy bird milk that much anymore, but I'm going to say it now. In fact, I just did. That was Brian Baldinger. On the best football show podcast. And as our friend and yours, perhaps especially yours, Andrew Filippone said, Baldy is very close to the Steelers front office. Pony tweeted out yesterday he's talked on his show about his friendship with Andy Weidel.
What do we make of this? Let's get to that momentarily. First, our salutations at the top. We're at Bowser Chevy. Love being out here. They have the studio just for us. It's a Donnie Football Friday, which means, quite needless to say, Donnie Football sitting across from me. And Austin City Limits, Becktold, is back in the home studio. Gentlemen, how are you? I'm good, Joe.
I'm very excited about another Football Friday. We got a lot. Because we get to talk about something that's not just a hypothetical for the first time in station history.
Yeah, you mentioned it when I said that your career is so much in front of you and most of mine is behind me. And you said next time the Steelers do a coaching search, you could be long retired. And I might be. I might be in Florida with Ron. Drinking at 11 a.m. by the time the Steelers choose a next coach. I'd be very jealous of that. What? I'd be very jealous of that.
I think Ron's living the life. So do I. This happens once every 15 to 20 years. That's the stage we're in, the state we're in, the time we're in right now. Limits, everything well at the home studio?
Everything is going well here, guys. Good to talk to you. Football Friday, always elite. So let's have a good one.
Well, in honor of Ron, why don't we do this in the form of a six-pack and why don't you crack one for Brian Baldinger and Mario Cristobal? Wow, that sounded pretty good. Donnie, your first reaction to this, is this realistic?
I don't think so. I know that Baldy is good friends with Andy Weidel, and I know that this is coming in what feels almost like the midnight hour of the coaching search. But now the Steelers are in a spot where they don't...
they don't have to be a team that's rushing to the finish line here because we've already seen a lot of the openings get filled, at least from people that I think are tied to the Steelers. And I know that the mindset right now is, okay, well, Shula is the favorite among a lot of people. I mean, how many people did you have on this week that mentioned Chris Shula as their number one guy? Right.
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Chapter 4: How does Baldinger's relationship with the Steelers influence the coaching search?
And I know that they don't necessarily have to follow that same sort of prototype that they have in years past. But I would be a little bit surprised if Art II didn't do that. Because I do think if he knows anything... He knows what his dad was able to find in a lot of the head coaches or the main three head coaches that we talk about in this team's history.
And he might not want to sway too far from that road. Going with a guy that is already in his mid-50s, has been at the college level for a long time, does not have a single piece of pro football experience coaching-wise under his belt, that would be going against the grain. That would be pretty bold.
And we have also seen in the past these good or great college coaches, they don't always pan out the way you think at the NFL level.
Right. And that's a different question, is would it work? Here's the thing, Donnie. A, McCarthy and Flores are out of the norm, too, for what they've done. And I mean, they've only done it twice or three times, I guess. So what is the norm, really? Three times? If I've done something three times in 50 years, is that a habit or is that just three things I've done in 50 years?
Plus, here's the thing. why would baldinger i'm not saying make this up but why would he even mention it in the way he did like as he even said i'm not a reporter i'm not doing reporter stuff i just happen to know the steelers are quote very interested and as steelers depot pointed out baldy was ahead of the game on kenny gainwell he basically reported that before it happened
So my antennas are way up here, way up on this one, because it's not like Antonio Brown. What's the name of his? CTE? CTE-SPN. It's not like that. It's not. Although, although former players and things like that, guys with connections to the league can still break stories. Have they broken anything on CTSPN yet over the years? Probably at least one thing. This is baldy.
who has no reason to say such a thing. He could say, he could have phrased it very differently. Like, man, if I was at the head of this search, an old school guy like Cristobal at Miami would be at the top of my list. I can tell you that. I know there are some people at the Steelers who have thought of him or who like him, whatever. No, no, no.
This is the Steelers are very interested in Cristobal. So I can't help but take this, well, very seriously. I do. And I'm waiting to see if we get news of them contacting him or if they've already secretly talked to him. I don't know. But this jumps off the page because it's baldy.
I'm also still wondering, we got the report around this time last week or going into last weekend, and it was Jerry Dulac, who we know is more plugged in than anybody that covers the Steelers. He's been covering them the longest. He has a pretty direct line in to what they're going to do. He also mentioned, unless I'm forgetting something that ā
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Chapter 5: What are the potential candidates for the Steelers coaching position?
Yeah, Jim Harbaugh would be another example of a guy who's had success in both places. But it's not that frequent. There's nothing about this that makes me say ā Wow, this is ā you got to consider this. You got to go with this guy. He jumps to the head of the class. None of that. But I'll tell you, it's a hell of a story.
And if it's balding or saying very interested, a guy who's friends with Andy Weidel, connected to the Steelers. The way Baldinger is, it's something to track. It's something to track for sure. Limits? Can you crack another? There you go. How many do you think Ron has had already today, Donnie?
10, 18. Four? You think four already? Oh, yeah.
Chapter 6: How does the Steelers' timing affect their coaching search?
I was going to say two.
I think four.
I think the morning walk, followed by this, followed by maybe a little nap, followed by a trip to the beach, and then happy hour every day. Everything free. What a beautiful life. Everything free, of course. All right, Donnie, let's take an abrupt turn here in our six-pack because there is Penguin news. There's also a great Penguin win last night.
They hammer the fighting Connor McDavids on a back-to-back night in Edmonton. They blow out Tristan Jari, three goals in 37 seconds. And after the game, Evgeny Malkin tells reporters, I want one more year. I want everybody to see I can play next year. That's my goal right now. Donnie, this is a giant story. Is it a good idea?
I think so. Still over a point per game player. He's played 35 games this season, has 39 points. So until he looks like a guy that's a true detriment to the team, I don't see why not. Now, I think I've always been pretty pro Geno. I also thought this season would be a dumpster fire. I thought they would be very bad. Me too. And, you know, they have...
to my surprise and to my happiness, they do not look like that. Dan Muse has been a breath of fresh air. The team defense has been so much better than what we've seen the last couple of seasons. It seems like they're starting to figure out the goaltending situation, which could really, I don't want to say take the team over the top, but maybe bump them up to an actual playoff team.
And I know that they're right there in the playoffs right now, and they would actually get home ice if the season ended today, which is amazing to me. I would absolutely sign up for another year of Geno. Absolutely.
So would I. For a number of reasons. One... He'd come cheaper than he does now. He'd be an unbelievable bargain. And if you look at points per game, he's ahead of a ton of notable players in the league. He's 25th in the NHL in points per game right now. You look across the league, there's notable players everywhere who are below him. Two, it looks to me like he's moving like the old Geno again.
Maybe not the old Geno. when he was in his prime, but for a while there, it just looked like he was getting creaky and old and slowing down, like that old Geno Gallop was gone. Well, if you listened to Borky last night on the television broadcast, Geno's galloping again. He's moving around, he's having fun, he's playing freely and happily.
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Chapter 7: What challenges do college coaches face when transitioning to the NFL?
I also like having a football guy as the GM. That's maybe just me, but I do like having the football guy as a GM.
Did you also happen to see that Stephen Ross forgot Halfley's name? Did he? At the opening press conference? Yeah. I know the morning show was talking about that, so I don't know if Austin has it.
Like Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons?
Yeah, but he forgot his first name at the introduction.
Incredible. Things that stood out about Halfley were the way some of his former players talked about him too. Richard Sherman saying his preparation is some of the best I've seen. I've had some great defensive back coaches. I like the fact he was in a lot of different rooms, that he was a head coach. Boston College one year went real bad, other two pretty good in a difficult time.
I just liked how people spoke of him and his resume. But we'll find out. I mean, we're going to be comparing Jesse Minner with whoever the Steelers hire till the end of time. Did they pass up one there? I could say that about anybody. Maybe. We'll see over the next decade.
I think that's something that's fun to me about all of this. I mean, think about how often we do it with the draft where we consider guys that the Steelers could have taken and they took somebody else or whatever it may be, like the comparisons you do. from draft night, from any draft over the years. We're going to be able to do this now about the coaching search following the 2025 season.
Kind of like what happened way back when. I mean, like the cycle when the Steelers drafted Tomlin. I know that he was more of the unknown. I brought up the article that you wrote that my dad still has saved in storage from when Cower resigned. You put out a list of guys, potential next-up head coaches. I think you had Tomlin at number five or six on that list. You had the obvious.
You had Wizenhunt and Russ Grimm, Ron Rivera on there. Some of those guys had success as head coaches, but none of them reached the levels that Tomlin did. No doubt. Limits. Next.
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