The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to make perhaps the most important decision they've made in 19 years. This franchise has had one head coach since 2007, but after Mike Tomlin stepped down after a nearly two-decade run, the next coach has massive shoes to fill.
And if history repeats itself, the new HC hire could be in Pittsburgh for a long time.
The Steelers were quick to gather an initial list of candidates, and with four of the 10 head coaching vacancies around the NFL already filled, we are beginning to narrow down their selection.
Their top choice points to Chris Shula, the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator. This has been a name linked to Pittsburgh from the beginningof the process. However, with the Rams set to enter the NFC Championship game, Shula has been unavailable to meet with the team in person.
Other candidates still in the hunt include Rams' passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Dolphins' defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Vikings' defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and even former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
But the best (and most underrated) head coach candidate in this year's hiring cycle isn't even on the Steelers' radar.
The Pittsburgh Steelers won't consider Klint Kubiak for their head coaching job (but they should)
While the Pittsburgh Steelers did have a virtual interview with Klay Kubiak—the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers—they have expressed zero reported interest in his brother, Klint.
Klint Kubiak is the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. Despite being just 38 years old, he has served as an assistant coach for over a decade in the NFL.
In his first year as OC in Seattle, Kubiak led the Seahawks to a top-10 offense, which included the second-ranked scoring offense (29.1 points per game) and the seventh-ranked total offense (347.4 yards per game).
READ MORE: Steelers' top head coach candidate is already painfully obvious to fans
Kubiak is considered by many to be the best offensive-minded young coach on the market in 2026. This past season, we witnessed the success that other young offensive minds like Ben Johnson brought to the Bears or Liam Coen brought to the Jaguars. While Kubiak is considered a step under these former OC-turned-head coach hires, there's so much upside with a hire like this.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled offensively since Ben Roethlisberger's season-ending elbow injury in 2019, and things have gone from bad to worse since his retirement after the 2021 season.
Kubiak could finally put an end to this.
Here's the issue: the Steelers have expressed virtually no interest in the young offensive coordinator. And if they haven't considered him at this stage of the hiring process, he's not going to be on their radar at all to replace Mike Tomlin.
Klint Kubiak's youth, innovation, and recent success make him the obvious choice to be this year's breakout first-year head coach candidate. Sadly, we can already cross him off the list as a potential Tomlin replacement.