The Pittsburgh Steelers (Maybe?) Hire Mike Tomlin

As of this writing, Tomlin has not been confirmed as the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but various reports seem to suggest that this is the case. Of course, as Daily Norseman reports, there's also other reports that suggest that Russ Grimm is the head coach. However, judging from the quantity and quality of all of these sources, it seems more likely that Tomlin will be on the Pittsburgh sideline next season.

As a Vikings fan, this sucks.

In a 6-10 season for the Vikings, Mike Tomlin was one of the few bright spots. Despite playing his college ball with Darren Sharper, Tomlin was hired away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was the defensive backs coach. He immediately came in and implemented a new scheme, utilized players well, and turned the Vikings into one of the best defensive units in the NFL. The run defense was historically good, and while the pass defense had its problems, the numbers suggest it maybe wasn't as bad as you might think.

Tomlin would be only the 3rd Pittsburgh Steelers coach in the last 38 years, and the 6th African-American coach in the NFL. From all I could see, he's a very bright, articulate guy that responded well to players and got the best out of them. I'm not sure he's ready to be a head coach in the NFL quite yet, but he's definitely one of the bright young coaching prospects out there.

At this point I still have a glimmer of hope that the reports might be false, because losing Tomlin is a tough pill to swallow. If the reports are true, I wish Tomlin well. I'm sure he'll do a great job in Pittsburgh.