Mike Tomlin’s resignation made it inevitable, but the Steelers have a nearly entirely new coaching staff. A better one, Mark Kaboly argues. Which is the goal, of course: to improve when you step into a new job. Pittsburgh likely had the option to re-sign most of its coaches but retained only two.
For the better, Kaboly argues. While he doesn’t judge Tomlin versus Mike McCarthy, he believes the latter put together a better Steelers coaching staff. Even if he isn’t yet entirely sold on DC Patrick Graham, he sees the potential. From a continuity perspective, it doesn’t hurt that many of them have worked together before.
“I think you’ve got some better coaches. Maybe [Patrick] Graham, I don’t know”, he said on 93.7 The Fan, comparing the Steelers’ current coaching staff to Tomlin’s. “Jason Simmons is a defensive coordinator in waiting. Joe Whitt [Jr.]’s been successful everywhere. So they’ve got a lot of good minds they could get together and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re gonna do’”.
Given McCarthy’s offensive background, Graham is obviously the Steelers’ most consequential new coach hiring. He will be solely responsible for the defense, or at least for most of it. Certainly closer than anybody has been since Dick LeBeau a number of years ago. While Kaboly is hesitant to crown Graham, he respects his mentality.
“Patrick Graham comes across to me as a guy that’s willing to take that input from his staff and put it to use. To me, at some points, it was Mike Tomlin’s my-way-or-the-highway”, he said. “‘This is what we’re gonna do. Now you implement this’. That’s what’s gonna be different now. Does it work? I guess we’ll have to find out here, but I think they’re in a better situation”.
Well-laid plans, of course, only get you a piece of paper. It’s how you execute those plans that matters. Mike McCarthy has a history of building coaching staffs, though the Steelers are his third post as head coach. And he populated his coaching staff with many he had previously worked with in Green Bay and Dallas.
Outside of coordinators, the new members of the Steelers’ coaching staff drawing the most attention are in the trenches. Both OL coach James Campen and DL coach Domata Peko seem to generate discussion. Both for who they are as coaches and for how important their groups are.
The Steelers have been investing in both the offensive and defensive lines, and the coaching staff must develop their young players. That includes their three most recent first-round picks, OT Troy Fautanu, DL Derrick Harmon, and OT Max Iheanachor. At least two will be starters this year. If Iheanachor is up to speed by Week 1, it will be a feature in Campen’s cap, for sure.
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