It has been 16 years since the Pittsburgh Steelers named their successor to Bill Cowher. Those shoes were going to be almost too large to fill. The organization went into a search around the country and narrowed that down to about five coaches in total. Everyone involved decided on one person and that ended up being Mike Tomlin.
Throughout those 16 years of Tomlin in control, this club has never seen a losing season, which puts him up there as one of the best coaches in the league. He has been the source of plenty of scrutiny in recent years since the Steelers have not won a playoff game in over half a decade. The team made the right decision by hiring Tomlin in 2007, and that decision is still right today.
Mike Tomlin has been a good match with the Steelers since he was hired
Back when Tomlin was named the new head coach of the Steelers, he was still in his mid-30s. He joined a club with a vast history and plenty of players that were primed for some potential Super Bowl runs. His new voice in the locker room and motivational understanding helped his club get to the finish line in Super Bowl 43.
Many forget that Cowher struggled to make Super Bowls, let alone win them throughout his career. He went to a couple but only won one before he stepped away from coaching and retired. Tomlin still has a lot of coaching left in him and he will be in Pittsburgh until he chooses to do something else. Never having a losing season is not a litmus test for overall success, but it does put him in the conversation of being a consistent winner throughout his career.
Bill Cowher's recommendation for the top job did not last long
Other than Tomlin, there were four different coaches that seemed like good fits for the open job in Pittsburgh. Bill Cowher was no longer with the club after stepping down for his duties to focus on personal matters. His Hall of Fame career was legendary in the Steel City, especially after how he ended with a Super Bowl victory the year before he retired.
His word carried some weight with it in this city and that became more evident after he made a recommendation for his successor. Chuck Noll was not a part of the hiring process to bring Cowher aboard, but the man with the legendary chin was not afraid to lend his word of advice. He brought up Chan Gailey to be a potential option to fill the shoes that he left empty.
One of the biggest concerns with Galley was his age at the time. He would have been older than Cowher was and that had him sitting at 55 years old back in 2007. Now that did not rule him out, but it seemed like the black and gold were looking for some different options to bring new blood into their organization. Another slight setback for Gailey was his offensive minded coaching style.
Gailey had coached under Cowher in two different roles as his wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator. He did possess a bunch of professional and college experience both as head coach, coordinator, and positional duties as well. His time as the top guy in the NFL never brought a ton of success and the Steelers passed on bringing him in.
No riverboats ever came to the Steel City as the team watched him pass by
Another notable name in today's NFL that was in the thick of the search back in 2007 was Ron Rivera, otherwise known as "Riverboat Ron". There were some things that made a lot of sense with the connection between Pittsburgh's opening and Rivera in the fold. He was still about ten years older than Tomlin was at the time of the hire, but he would have leaned into that younger mold.
Being only 45 years old and being a head coach in the NFL is something that would have been uncommon at the time. Another thing that Rivera had going for him are some of the similarities that he had with Cowher's career trajectory. Rivera was a former linebacker in the NFL before becoming a defensive minded coach.
Rivera was the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears that year and that was when they lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. He was a great defensive wizard for that team, but that did put his potential hopes of getting employment with the Steelers in a bind. They would have to wait to interview Rivera, which was something the club did not feel keen on doing.
Instead of waiting, Tomlin was hired, and Rivera would eventually become a head coach four years later with the Carolina Panthers. Who knows what the Steelers would have turned out to be under Rivera, but it is an interesting alternative that could have worked out. Rivera and Cowher did share a lot of similarities with their career paths, but Tomlin was the best for the job.
A local product got down to the final list but did not stay in Pittsburgh
There were a couple of in-house options on the table for the black and gold when they were looking for Cowher's replacement. Some of the coaching tree that he had in place were impressive during that time. That is something that Tomlin has always struggled with his coaching staff, finding coaches that could go on to become top coaches elsewhere.
One name that carried historic relevance across the NFL that was with the organization at the time was Russ Grimm. He had been with the Steelers since 2001 at that point and helped the offensive line become a steady group in the NFL. The former Hall of Fame guard for the Washington organization was a finalist for the top job in the Steel City.
It would have been a nice story to watch play out as Grimm was a local Pittsburgh guy with his roots in Scottdale, PA. It would have had some resemblance to Cowher taking of the Steelers back in the 90s, but things did not work out that way. He would not be selected as the next head coach of the club, and he would move on to coach elsewhere as an offensive line coach until 2017.
No one could ever knock Grimm's work in the trenches either as a player or coach in the NFL. He was impressive in both aspects. His lack of experience as either a coordinator or lead man on an NFL club might have been one of his biggest flaws. Tomlin brought new ideas and some different juice that Grimm just would not have been able to accomplish.
An offensive minded guru did not mesh with the Steelers identity
The other internal option in Pittsburgh was Ken Whisenhunt, the offensive coordinator of the Steelers. He held that title for two years and it seemed like his future would either be etched with the black and gold or elsewhere as a head coach. He was an offensive minded guru that was able to help create one of the better offenses in the league.
Another thing that worked in his favor was his age of 45 years old at the time, just like Rivera. He had a lot of experience, and many wondered if the club would turn more towards the offensive side of the ball with a young Ben Roethlisberger becoming the main act. Even though Whisenhunt was one of the finalists for the job, he never got the job with the Steelers.
He would join the Arizona Cardinals as their top guy with the club and both he and Tomlin would go head-to-head in Super Bowl 43. Tomlin and the Steelers won that game and that seemed to justify that move of hiring Tomlin over Whisenhunt at the time. Unfortunately for him, time only made things worse for his career as a head coach in the NFL.
Whisenhunt only lasted in the desert for five seasons before both parties went their separate ways. He would get other chances to coach elsewhere, but he would not last long in those positions. Tomlin was the best hire of that crop of coaches back in 2007 and even to this day. He might not be a perfect coach in the NFL, but he has been a successful one.