[NFL] Pittsburgh Steelers Find New Head Coach
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.22.2007
The search is over.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin accepted the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching job Sunday night and was working out a four-year contract he hoped to complete Monday, people close to the search told The Associated Press.
They requested anonymity because the Steelers have asked all parties involved in the search to not speak to reporters until they can make the announcement, which could come Monday or Tuesday.
Tomlin is expected to make around $2.5 million per year, the going rate of late for first-time NFL coaching hires. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher resigned Jan. 5 following 15 seasons after apparently rejecting a $6 million per year contract extension offer earlier this year.
Tomlin's hiring completed a frantic 2 1/2 -week search in which he was initially viewed as an unlikely choice behind perceived front-runners Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, only to land the job after impressing the Steelers with his motivation, intensity, knowledge of defense and enthusiasm.
"It's humbling," Tomlin said last week of being in the running to become only the third Steelers coach in 38 years. "These are great football people. I've got a great deal of respect for what they do and what they've done. It's just a very humbling experience to be involved in but, at the same time, professional football is what I do and I'm a competitor like everyone else."
The 34-year-old Tomlin, a defensive coordinator for only one season, was chosen over Grimm, the Steelers' assistant head coach for three years and Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. The Steelers decided Sunday not to give Rivera a second interview because they couldn't talk with him again until Feb. 5, the day after the Super Bowl.
The Steelers issued a statement Sunday morning saying they had not concluded a deal and didn't expect to on Sunday, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later reported Grimm had been told Tomlin was the choice.
However, the Steelers did not deny Tomlin was the choice, only that they did not have a contract with their new coach and did not expect to have one Sunday.
