This
is the reality of the National Football League. About 60 minutes after Bill
Cowher finished explaining his reasons for resigning after 15 seasons as the
Pittsburgh Steelers coach, team president Art Rooney II addressed the issue of
the search to find a replacement.
As
they say in countries ruled by monarchies: "the king is dead; long live the
king."
"I just want to start by saying we
will begin our search for a head coach immediately," said Rooney. "Our only goal
is to find the best person for the job. The timetable will simply relate to when
we feel that we have reached that goal. We will identify candidates only after
we have completed an interview and only if that candidate wishes to be
identified. The only exception to that at this point is I do want to confirm
that we have informed both Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt that they are
candidates, and they will be interviewed."
It was important that the Steelers
get down to the business of finding the 16th coach in franchise history in a
timely fashion, because they are in competition with four other franchises for a
head coach, and they will be in competition with even more for assistant
coaches.
When Rooney said the search will
begin immediately, it wasn't hyperbole. The NFL has set up specific rules
regarding when teams can interview coaches on staffs of teams that are in the
playoffs, and the window is open now, and only for a short period. After that,
the Steelers would have to wait until the candidate's team is eliminated from
the playoffs to have any contact with him about this job.
This week, the Steelers are able to
interview coaches on the staffs of playoff teams that have a bye in the first
round of the playoffs. The following week is the period when the Steelers can
interview coaches on the staffs of teams that will play in the Wild Card round
of the playoffs.
Rooney
also said that right now, Grimm and Whisenhunt are the only two coaches on the
Steelers' current staff who are candidates for the job, and that all interviews
will be conducted by a three-man committee made up of him, Dan Rooney and Kevin
Colbert.
"I would say, fundamentally, it is a
similar process to what we've had in the past," said Rooney, even though the
Steelers have been through the process only twice in 38 years. "I would say that
the two biggest things we will rely on will be interviews, No. 1, and No. 2 will
be information and recommendations we can get from other people in the league
whose opinions we respect. That is what we have done in the past and I think
that is the way it will be done this time."
When Noll was hired, the Steelers
were in the process of reshaping their franchise completely, but when Cowher was
hired, Dan Rooney said, "We're not looking for a savior. We don't need
saved."
This time there is a belief that
keeping some of the current components on the roster and staff together has some
merit, based on the fact this group went 39-15, with a trip to a conference
championship game and a Super Bowl title, over the past three
seasons.
"I think we will be aware of the
team we have, the roster we have as we go into this, not that it would put
absolute restrictions on anything, but it is certainly something we will take
into account," said Rooney. "I would say overall, we have had an approach to the
game of football that I think has been fairly consistent going back to Coach
Noll. So I think looking for people who we feel fit with the organization and
the approach we have had to football, I think those kinds of things will be
factored in.
"We don't think that you just bring
somebody in and say here are your assistant coaches. I think whoever comes in is
going to have to have the ability to put his staff together. Having said that,
we think that we have good people on this staff. We would recommend that he
consider people on the staff, but the bottom line is that whoever comes in has
to have the ability to put his staff together."
Rooney said experience as an NFL
coach would be an asset to any potential candidate, but he also would not rule
out a college coach. The Steelers often choose to travel a path not taken by the
masses in these situations, because they value someone who has an understanding
of how they do business and who has a willingness to operate under that
framework.
"I think that some appreciation and
a general fit for the organization is important," said Rooney. "We may talk to
people who aren't that familiar with the organization, so it's not incumbent on
them to have an appreciation in the sense of knowledge of the organization. I
think someone who shares similar philosophies to the approach to the game of
football, those kinds of things are important."
Also important to the Steelers is to
adhere to what's known as the Rooney Rule, which requires all NFL teams looking
for a head coach to interview at least one minority candidate. The only
exception to this is if an existing coach on the staff has it written into his
contract that he would assume the head coaching job when the current one
left.
There is little reason to believe
the Steelers would write that into an assistant coach's contract, and so the
team will interview minorities, not because it's required but because Art Rooney
II and his father believe it's the right thing to do in order to identify the
best candidates for the job.
"We're required to include at least
a minority candidate," said Rooney. "Somebody asked earlier if things have
changed. The one thing that has changed over the years is the number of quality
of minority candidates who are in the pool to be considered has grown. From that
standpoint I think that's a positive and not difficult to find people who are
coordinators and have the kind of experience you want in these
positions."
And so the process of finding a new
head coach is underway. It's a process the Steelers don't go through often, but
the reason for that is they have a history of doing it very
well.
"When
Dick Hoak announced his retirement the other day, he was asked to compare Chuck
and Bill and noted that there were differences," said Rooney. "Dick made the
comment that there are different ways to get it done. There are different
personalities. That's true. The No. 1 thing is they have to be themselves.
Someone we feel is a genuine person, that will be
important."
