The Pomp And Joe Show
The Steelers need the best coach, not to fall back on their old tendencies
16 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What do Tim Benz and Ryan Fitzpatrick think about the Steelers' coaching search?
Brian Flores, we're talking about coaches with previous experience. And by the way, Donnie, I agree with our friend Benzie over at The Trip. that the Steelers should not be looking for the right coach. They should be looking for the right coach, not advancing their long-held traditions. He's basically saying that most of these guys fit their type from all their history. You know what I mean?
And does that ā does it narrow the pool and maybe prevent you from choosing the right guy when you write off people for the most part, Flores being an exception ā When you write off people who have previous head coaching experience, right?
When you maybe even write off the offensive side of that, I mean, most of these guys fit the young, untested, defensive coordinator, never a head coach thing, right? Do you think they're going to limit themselves?
Chapter 2: Why should the Steelers avoid falling back on old coaching traditions?
I really hope not. I mean, them at least bringing in Clay Kubiak and Sheilhaus and tells me that they're going to at least go a little bit wider with the search than just, hey, here's a defensive coordinator who hasn't coached before. But it is a little bit concerning when you look at the list and three-quarters of it is... Fill-in-the-blank defensive coordinator.
Yeah.
And then you happen to have Kubiak, who's the 49ers OC, and then Sheilhaus, who's the Rams pass game coordinator and works under Sean McVay. Kubiak works under Shanahan. So they're working under great minds.
in the league and clay the brother of clint the son of of gary so you know they have that lineage too but i i i think it would be it would be dumb on their part to not open it up like if these are the only eight guys yeah that would leave you something to be desired now they could get it right they could absolutely get it right they've gotten it right better than any other team in the national football league in the last 60 years
But I feel like they owe it to, hey, let's throw in a couple of more OCs. Let's throw in a Stefanski.
Yeah. Now, Jerry Dulac also has an interesting report here saying that. Tomlin had two years remaining on his three-year $50 million contract, right? But the final year in his contract was a team option and voided when he stepped down.
That means the team only retains his rights for one more season, which is very important because it would have to be within that time frame that they could make a trade. If he doesn't coach next season and then wants to go out in 27 and get a job, the Steelers can't make a trade. So I thought that was an important clarification that I've been wondering about you.
Yeah, the important note there is that the moment he stepped down, it voided the option. Because I did wonder, even though it would...
cost them would they consider exercising that option if it meant hey we have his control for another year right and if we get to 2027 with him we can get some some compensation back and not just any compensation you look at the coaches that have been traded in the past notably sean payton would be one uh first and second round pick and if tomlin is in as high demand or would be as everybody seems to think he would
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Chapter 3: How could limiting the coaching search impact the Steelers' future?
Yeah, that we know of, yeah.
It was definitely higher than how they thought of Sean Peyton.
Right. You'd think, although Peyton has that offensive background where he walks in and calls your plays and develops your quarterback. So when push comes to shove, I wonder how many teams, let's say Peyton and Tomlin both went on the open market today. Who do you think is more coveted? I say Peyton.
I think Peyton is right now, right this minute. But at the time that Peyton got traded, he also had taken a year off to do TV.
Yep. Good point. Then there's Flores. Here's Ryan Fitzpatrick talking about his time in Miami with Flores, and it was a time. where Fitzpatrick was benched for Tua, where it ended poorly. But what he says here isn't all negative. It's just it's his version of accounts when he was in Miami under Flores. This is on the Fitz and Wit podcast.
I think the interesting thing with Brian Flores, when I think about him and being able to play under him for a few years, is which version of Brian Flores are we getting? And in year one, With Miami, take you back to that year. I mean, Miami got rid of every good player they had. And that was the jokingly called the tank for two a year.
But I'll tell you, halfway through that year, we didn't win a game yet. And there was a shift in the way that he was approaching his job. He was likable. He was relatable. He demanded a lot out of the players. But he was also able to get the best version. of his players, and I really appreciated him for that. But as his tenure went on in Miami, he kind of became unrecognizable.
A lot of the staff he brought over from New England, that was where, you know, he cut his teeth in the NFL was there for 15 plus years as an assistant. But I think he's going to have a really hard time. If you're interviewing him as a head coach, I think in the interviews, he'll be likable. He'll be relatable.
But when people say, okay, give me somebody from Miami that coached under you as a reference. So we can talk to them. I think he burned a lot of bridges there. I think he alienated himself from the entire staff. Instead of what you were just talking about, having the humility to ask questions, to collaborate. I think by the end of his time there, he became a dictator.
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Chapter 4: What are the potential implications of Mike Tomlin's contract situation?
The only other caveat would be what we are all kind of hoping is like, oh, maybe they can get the Rams double feature out of all this. Then it would be a little bit different because you would have the offensive mind in there. But that's why I lean on that side because one of the big gripes that I think goes against Tomlin's greatness is that the man never once developed a QB.
I know Big Ben had his best seasons ever. When Tomlin was here, but he also only had three with Bill Cower, to be fair. And he also won a Super Bowl, even though he wasn't lighting it up on the stat sheet as much.
Yeah, the best thing Tomlin did was tell his coordinator and Ben, you guys do what you do.
Yes. And then once that went away... He chose Kenny Pickett. Yes, it has been Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, just out of sheer, hey, I need you or else I'm going to... Russell Wilson. Yeah, lose my fabled non-losing streak. Justin Fields, Russell Wilson on his last legs, Aaron Rodgers on his last legs. They've just been grasping at straws.
Right.
Like they have no, like there was really no clue.
In a funny kind of.
Apparently how to develop a new guy.
Right.
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