Hiring a head coach isn\u2019t a science. It\u2019s art. A picture NFL teams often get wrong, leading them to start the process all over within years of claiming they found \u201ctheir guy.\u201d But how do teams evaluate and hire a head coach in the first place? It\u2019s a process the Pittsburgh Steelers haven\u2019t been involved in for nearly 20 years, and a landscape that\u2019s changed in the two decades since tabbing Mike Tomlin.<\/p>\n
Like the hire itself, there is no uniform process. But here\u2019s a look into how things can happen and the big-picture steps the Steelers are taking to find the franchise\u2019s next leader.<\/p>\n
The search begins with building a list of possible candidates. Names of those who might be on the initial interview list. That can be done solely in-house, but often, and often quietly, it\u2019s handled by outside search firms.<\/p>\n
Ominous as it sounds for external forces to have a hand in a franchise\u2019s decision, that isn\u2019t always bad. As Dan Hatman, former NFL scout and current Director of Scouting Development at the Scouting Academy,<\/a> explains:<\/p>\n \u201cI might think that this guy could be a really good head coach,\u201d Hatman tells me of how an NFL owner or general manager might think about the process. \u201cAnd I\u2019m vetting him through the lens of I\u2019m talking to players that have played for him, and I\u2019m talking to coaches that have worked for him. And I\u2019ve done all that. I\u2019m gonna have somebody else go figure out: Does he have a closet full of skeletons legally that I don\u2019t wanna deal with? And that firm could just be doing that kind of work.\u201d<\/p>\n Carried over from COVID protocols, interviews now often begin virtually, and recent NFL rules enforce that. The benefit is casting a wider net of candidates, opening up more doors for coaches and giving teams more perspective. During Pittsburgh\u2019s 2007 search, there were only five initial candidates. In 2026, there were nine. Teams like the Tennessee Titans considered nearly 20 names.<\/p>\n The downside, however, is feeling far less connected than in a face-to-face.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so absurd last year with Zoom interviews,\u201d longtime NFL agent Bob LaMonte told ESPN in 2022.<\/a> \u201cYou don\u2019t feel a person in a Zoom interview. It\u2019s like watching a Netflix show. If you don\u2019t like it, you turn it off and get another one.\u201d<\/p>\n The virtual interview doesn\u2019t bring the nitty-gritty. There isn\u2019t an in-depth discussion on roster construction, coaching staff, or ultimate vision for the franchise. Think first date rather than a marriage proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a way to triage the list more on personality,\u201d Hatman says. \u201cAnd perceived personality fit than any sort of hard skill piece of it\u2026If you\u2019re a GM-centric organization, I want my own direct path. I don\u2019t want to report to anybody. [In a] GM-centric situation, I\u2019d be like, \u2018Yeah, well then you\u2019re not a good fit here because you\u2019re gonna report to me.’\u201d<\/p>\n A trimmed-down list proceeds to in-person meetings. The collection representing the franchise can vary. It could be just with an owner. It could be with what feels like an entire planning committee. When new Miami Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan was introduced Friday,<\/a> he thanked a Brady Bunch-long list of names: Tom, Danny, Steven, Troy, Brandon and Dan.<\/p>\n During his post-Tomlin press conference, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said he and general manager Omar Khan will lead the search and make decisions. Perhaps they will consult outside opinions. But Pittsburgh will have a tighter circle.<\/p>\n Interviews can last hours. Even the entire day. Each organization\u2019s approach is different. Sometimes it\u2019s a conversation. Sometimes it\u2019s more hands-on. Like a planned \u201cactivity\u201d to see how a coach actually works.<\/p>\n \u201cOne coach said he was just left with assistants for a few hours, simply to see how they\u2019d work together as they would in creating a game plan for an opponent,\u201d this 2025 Fox Sports article noted.<\/a><\/p>\n When the Philadelphia Eagles interviewed Doug Pederson in 2016, the final \u201ctest\u201d meant flipping the script.<\/p>\n \u201c[Howie Roseman] said, \u2018We\u2019re going to leave the room for 10 minutes,\u201d he told Sports Illustrated in 2018.<\/a> \u201cWhen we come back, we will sit on the sofa over there, and we would like you to make a presentation. Act like we are your new team, your new players, and this is your first team meeting in the spring. Tell us what you would say to the team.\u2019 So they exited the room, and I grabbed my notepad, and I jotted down my thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n When they returned, Pederson gave his speech. He noted the type of team his Eagles, of which he was not yet the coach, would be. How they would play, how they would practice, how they would carry themselves. Attack everything, fear nothing.<\/p>\n Pederson got the job.<\/p>\n The prep work is heavy on both ends. For candidates, thick binders were the universal sign of a finalist interview. Containing everything from coaching staff hires to practice schedule to thoughts about the team\u2019s current roster, they\u2019re often built not just in a day or cycle but over years as coaches begin betting on themselves and their chances of one day getting an interview. That binder isn\u2019t built alone, either.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got plenty of friends in the industry that have built books either in GM side or the coaching side for interviews,\u201d Hatman notes. \u201cOr have been a part of the build of them. Or this guy built this section, and this guy built this section\u2026When you see a young person following a head coach into a new building, and you\u2019re like, \u2018I don\u2019t know who the heck is this person.\u2019 They were probably involved in prepping them for the interview.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s not a negative, either. Coaching is about delegation. Those who balance it well are often most successful.<\/p>\n The only change these days is that presentations are usually PowerPoint or passed around on iPads. Leave a binder, and the team has all your information to use against you. The iPads don\u2019t stay with the team.<\/p>\n Coach interviews are like the SATs. There are plenty of prep courses. Agent Brian Levy, who represented Tomlin<\/a> throughout his entire head coach tenure, has the answers to the test.<\/p>\n \u201cLevy\u2019s company, Goal Line Football, conducts an offseason workshop for its clients,\u201d Rich Cimini wrote in the above ESPN article. \u201cHe hosts about 150 coaches, putting them through various exercises to prepare them for interviews. He actually hires former GMs to run mock interviews, he hires body-language specialists to critique them on-camera. (Careful, no rocking back and forth.).\u201d<\/p>\n These also include scouting reports on each hiring team. A quick reference guide for a coach to understand each landing spot\u2019s cap space, roster and reason for needing a new coach in the first place.<\/p>\n Who gets hired? An impressive interview helps, of course. But often, teams enter their search with an idea of the type of coach they want \u2013 the opposite of the guy just fired.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember it from the Jets when I had gotten there. Because that was when [Rex Ryan] had just gotten hired,\u201d Hatman says. \u201cAnd so much of the chatter in the building was that the process that led to the Rex hire was heavily, heavily skewed to be like the opposite of [Eric] Mangini.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the things that were negative characteristics about Mangini \u2013 the way the building felt, the micromanagement, the negativity. They wanted the exact opposite. It was a focal point. And it\u2019s not a surprise to say, if you look at Eric Mangini, you look at Rex Ryan, they both are defensive minds. Both had coaching pedigrees. But as people, they\u2019re diametrically opposed. And that was on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n That holds true around the NFL. The Dolphins went from laid-back and offensive-minded Mike McDaniel to replacing him with defensive-minded, toughness-first Jeff Hafley. The Tennessee Titans whiffed on first-time head coach Brian Callahan. Of the 17 names they considered,<\/a> 13 had previous head coaching experience. Their choice, Robert Saleh, spent more than three seasons leading the New York Jets. Opposites attract in dating and head coach searches.<\/p>\n Questions from teams are wide-ranging. Having a vision of the roster is important, as is a list of the potential new hire\u2019s coaching staff. They often come with multiple options. One executive noted that many lists are comprised of coaches under contract who won\u2019t be allowed to break away from their old teams. An attainable list is key.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s deep dive noted the questions can get specific to determine personality and coaching style. What happens if your star player is skipping voluntary offseason workouts?\u00a0was a common way to discern how that coach handles each situation \u2013 and maybe how they\u2019d handle the media, too.<\/p>\n On the other side, candidates are evaluating where they fit best. And where they\u2019re most likely to be favored.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, this is the job that I want, but I\u2019m 12th on their list,\u201d Hatman says of what one head coach might think. \u201cAnd then the second team that I want, I\u2019m second on their list. Maybe we\u2019re putting more effort into team two. They\u2019re not my team one, but they want me more than team one does.\u201d<\/p>\n A job\u2019s attractiveness can vary. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. Hatman sees a handful of core elements to consider.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way I\u2019ve heard it best said, the five elements to winning a Super Bowl: owner, GM, head coach, quarterback, luck. So I think those are pretty pervasive in terms of focal points in the decision-making. So if you are the head coach, you\u2019re studying the other four, well, three, because you can\u2019t really study luck.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you are looking at who\u2019s this owner? Can I manage up? And if they\u2019re difficult. And if they\u2019re not difficult, that\u2019s a plus. I\u2019m looking at the GM. Again, can I manage and work with this person or are they just gonna make it easy on me? If they make it easy, it\u2019s a plus. Or, if it\u2019s already my buddy and we\u2019re getting hired together, that\u2019s a plus.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then quarterback. This thing that\u2019s either there and makes a Buffalo or a Baltimore, or I guess the Giants, marketable jobs. Despite the fact the Giants haven\u2019t had a winning record in a while, Harbaugh still chose that job because, \u2018Well, I don\u2019t have to go search for a quarterback right away.’\u201d<\/p>\n Coaches will rank the jobs on the board in those categories to determine which makes the most sense. All 32 NFL jobs are scarce, but coaches must be smart about where to choose for several reasons. If there are multiple options, if there\u2019s a job they\u2019d \u201conly\u201d be settling for (Ben Johnson turned down multiple chances<\/a> before finding a fit with Chicago last year), or a \u201cretread\u201d who knows there are only ever second chances, not thirds, for NFL head coaches.<\/p>\n Just as only one team can win the Super Bowl, only one man can get the job. Sometimes, they\u2019re the last to know.<\/p>\n \u201cA few days later, I called [my wife] Jeannie from the office, and she said, \u201cI just heard the news!\u201d \u201cPederson said in his SI story. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u201cWhat news?\u201d She said, \u201cIan [Rapoport] and Adam Schefter are saying you\u2019re going to be the next head coach of the Eagles. That\u2019s awesome!\u201d<\/p>\n Except no one had told Pederson. It would be days until the Eagles officially contacted him to offer the job.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh\u2019s search remains ongoing. No one knows who the favorite is. Not for a team that searches less often than the Vatican elects a Pope. Not for a franchise willing to enter the process with an open mind, surprising many by tabbing Tomlin over Russ Grimm all those years ago. Hatman, though, isn\u2019t shocked by the current pool of candidates.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEverybody I\u2019ve ever met from Western Pennsylvania, and the way they carry themselves, there\u2019s a consistency to it. In terms of what the makeup is for that. I can\u2019t imagine taking someone that really doesn\u2019t feel like they\u2019re from Pittsburgh and shoving them into that situation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re going to draw from the temperament, toughness, character of the last three coaches\u2026guys like Weaver or Flores who are tough dudes, that doesn\u2019t surprise me for a second. McCarthy\u2019s from Pittsburgh. That doesn\u2019t surprise me for a second. Shula\u2019s from Ohio. The personality traits and those kinds of guys would make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n After such a long tenure with Tomlin leading the way, there\u2019s an opportunity to do things differently \u2013 if the franchise wants to.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re gonna have to have some honest reflection about touch points in the last handful of years where the team hasn\u2019t been in AFC Championship Game-plus,\u201d Hatman said. \u201cWhy do we think that\u2019s the case? What areas do we think the Tomlin tenure could have done a little better?\u201d<\/p>\n