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POSTED 8:42 a.m. EST; UPDATED 9:07 a.m. EST, January 13, 2007
STEELERS SQUEEZING WHIZ AND GRIMM?
As Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt heads to Arizona for a second interview with the Cardinals, the Steelers reportedly are adding more names to the list of candidates to replace Bill Cowher.
Per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers may soon interview Texans assistant head coach Mike Sherman, which would push the total number of interviews to six.
Surely, the Steelers aren't serious about Sherman if, as was reported by John Czarnecki of FOX on Friday, Sherman requested a salary of $4 million per year. As we see it, there's no way that the Rooneys will pay the new guy roughly the same wages they were paying to Coach Chin.
So what's going on here? Our guess -- and it's just a guess, which means it's roughly as accurate as reports based on the rumors we monger -- is that the Steelers are trying to counter the tag-team that has developed between Whisenhunt and Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm.
It was reported earlier in the week that Whiz and Grimm are each willing to stay on the staff if the other guy gets the job, and vice-versa. The two in-house guys also have the same agent, which puts the Steelers in an unusual bind if/when the powers-that-be decide that either guy is acceptable, and that they'll hire the one who'll take the most reasonable financial package.
And Bouchette is hinting strongly (as we read his article) that this is precisely what is going on: "The entrance of [Chan] Gailey, 55, and possibly Sherman into the mix alters the picture of what the Steelers intend to do about their most important job opening. It was long regarded as a two-horse race between Steelers assistant coaches Russ Grimm and Whisenhunt."
It's also possible that Bouchette has been commissioned to send a not-so-subtle message to Whiz and Grimm that, if neither of them accepts the job, they both might be S.O.L.
"All Steelers assistant coaches are under contract through at least 2007," Bouchette writes. "That was seen as a positive for either Grimm or Whisenhunt if either became their head coach. The Steelers, however, traditionally let their new coach hire his own staff and, if a candidate from outside is hired, he might have an entirely different view of the assistants he wants to hire."
We continue to have a gut feeling -- and it's just a gut feeling, which means it's roughly as accurate as reports based on the rumors we monger -- that the next coach of the Steelers will be Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin.
STEELERS SQUEEZING WHIZ AND GRIMM?
As Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt heads to Arizona for a second interview with the Cardinals, the Steelers reportedly are adding more names to the list of candidates to replace Bill Cowher.
Per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers may soon interview Texans assistant head coach Mike Sherman, which would push the total number of interviews to six.
Surely, the Steelers aren't serious about Sherman if, as was reported by John Czarnecki of FOX on Friday, Sherman requested a salary of $4 million per year. As we see it, there's no way that the Rooneys will pay the new guy roughly the same wages they were paying to Coach Chin.
So what's going on here? Our guess -- and it's just a guess, which means it's roughly as accurate as reports based on the rumors we monger -- is that the Steelers are trying to counter the tag-team that has developed between Whisenhunt and Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm.
It was reported earlier in the week that Whiz and Grimm are each willing to stay on the staff if the other guy gets the job, and vice-versa. The two in-house guys also have the same agent, which puts the Steelers in an unusual bind if/when the powers-that-be decide that either guy is acceptable, and that they'll hire the one who'll take the most reasonable financial package.
And Bouchette is hinting strongly (as we read his article) that this is precisely what is going on: "The entrance of [Chan] Gailey, 55, and possibly Sherman into the mix alters the picture of what the Steelers intend to do about their most important job opening. It was long regarded as a two-horse race between Steelers assistant coaches Russ Grimm and Whisenhunt."
It's also possible that Bouchette has been commissioned to send a not-so-subtle message to Whiz and Grimm that, if neither of them accepts the job, they both might be S.O.L.
"All Steelers assistant coaches are under contract through at least 2007," Bouchette writes. "That was seen as a positive for either Grimm or Whisenhunt if either became their head coach. The Steelers, however, traditionally let their new coach hire his own staff and, if a candidate from outside is hired, he might have an entirely different view of the assistants he wants to hire."
We continue to have a gut feeling -- and it's just a gut feeling, which means it's roughly as accurate as reports based on the rumors we monger -- that the next coach of the Steelers will be Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin.
