For the first time since 2007, the Pittsburgh Steelers are searching for a new head coach, as Mike Tomlin submitted his resignation to president Art Rooney II on Tuesday.
So who will the Steelers target as Rooney begins his first search for a new coach as the team's primary owner?
The Steelers haven't hired a lot of coaches in recent memory, but the three they have hired have followed a similar pattern. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin all came to the Steelers as young coaches with defensive backgrounds.
It seems likely that Rooney will follow a similar mindset in searching for a replacement for Tomlin, though it should be noted that offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm were both finalists last time around.
With that being said, here's a lengthy and very preliminary list of potential Steelers head coaching targets:
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith at practice on Sept. 12, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Smith has head coaching experience, spending three years with the Atlanta Falcons , though it did not go all that well, finishing 7-10 in three straight seasons. He rebounded his resume by getting more than expected out of a below-average group of skill position players in Pittsburgh. Smith turned down the North Carolina job and was a finalist for the New York Jets head coaching job last season, and has an interview scheduled later this week with the Tennessee Titans .
Smith is still under contract with the Steelers, and at least one other team is considering him as an option, so the Steelers would be crazy to not at least interview him. That being said, this does not fit their typical pattern of head coaching hires.
Steelers senior defensive assistant Brian Flores at OTAs on June 1, 2022. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Flores also has head coaching experience, spending three seasons at the helm of the Miami Dolphins . Things did not go well. Flores was fired, his quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa , was openly critical of his coaching techniques. Then, Flores sued the Dolphins and the NFL, alleging among other things that Miami owner Stephen Ross pressured him to lose on purpose. It looked like Flores would never coach in the NFL again.
But Tomlin and the Steelers threw him a life preserver, hiring him as senior defesnive assistant in 2022. While Flores spent just one season in Pittsburgh, he was very well liked in the building, and likely would have stayed if not for getting an opportunity to be a defensive coordinator again in Minnesota.
Select members of the Coloado National Guard attended the Denver Broncos 2018 Minicamp Luncheon with Vance Joseph at UCHealth Training Center in Englewood, Colorado.. — Army Sgt. Zach Sheely/National Guard
The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC, mostly thanks to Joseph's defense, and it could be time for Joseph to get another shot at a head coaching job. The 53-year-old went 11-21 as the head coach of the Broncos from 2017-18, but Denver thought enough of him to bring him back as defensive coordinator in 2023, following a three-year stint in the same role with the Miami Dolphins.
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson on Oct. 29, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Pederson has a connection to Andy Weidl through his time with the Eagles. This is a list that is going to skew young and defensive, and so it makes some sense for the team to try to interview at least one candidate that bucks those trends. I wouldn't necessarily put Pederson at the top of an odds board, but I wouldn't be shocked if he got a phone call.
Pittsburgh Steelers head Coach Mike Tomlin and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy after a game on Oct. 6, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
So you want to keep Aaron Rodgers as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though the big reason he joined the club is leaving? Here's a way to keep him. Hire his old head coach, Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy, who has had a lot of success at two different stops as head coach of the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys.
McCarthy wouldn't fit any of the Steelers' usual paradigms, but it wouldn't be a shock for him to get an interview, and he has a tangential connection to Omar Khan, as they were both with the New Orleans Saints under Mike Ditka.
Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter watches during organized team activities at The Bolt in El Segundo, California on Jun 16, 2025. — Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
There isn't a candidate more like Cowher in this pool than Minter. Cowher was an up-and-coming young coach with the Cleveland Browns , was a part of some Cleveland teams than tortured the Steelers, and then left to take a promotion with the Kansas City Chiefs before the Steelers hired him.
Minter was an assistant coach with the Ravens from 2017-20 before going to the college ranks to become defensive coordinator at Michigan. He followed Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers last year and is already considered to be one of the top coaching candidates for the Ravens job.
The Steelers love their NFL bloodlines, though as far as I can tell, they've never hired a second-generation head coach. Chris Shula will be the third of his family to take the job if he lands a role. The grandson of Hall of Famer Don Shula, Chris' father Dave Shula also coached for the Cincinnati Bengals .
Shula, 39, just finished his second season a the Rams defensive coordinator. He won Super Bowl LVI there as a linebackers coach and has been with L.A. since 2017. Before that, he coach with the Chargers, and at John Carroll, Indiana and Ball State at the collegiate level.
Something else that the Steelers always seem to prioritize when it comes to adding players is what those players have done against them. Kenneth Gainwell is a perfect example of that. He became the team MVP in 2025 after torching the Steelers as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.
Matt Burke's defense just eviscerated the Pittsburgh Steelers. Houston allowed just six points to the Steelers in the Wild Card round after having one of the best defenses in the league all regular season. He has also been in consideration for other head coaching jobs.
Weaver is someone else who is familiar with the AFC North. He was a defensive line coach with the Cleveland Browns and the defensive line coach and assistant head coach for the Ravens from 2021-23.
Weaver is 45 years and was a second-pick of the Ravens out of Notre Dame in 2002, playing seven NFL seasons before picking up the headset.
San Francisco 49ers offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak looks on prior to the NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
The hottest name of the coaching cycle, Kubiak has already done some interviews this week as the red-hot Seattle Seahawks enjoyed their bye. It feels like that head start could be something that could be tough to overcome, and I'm not sure the offensive-minded Kubiak would be at the top of the Steelers' list anyway, even though he's been a popular candidate elsewhere.
Like Shula, he is also the scion of an NFL coaching family, with his father Gary Kubiak coaching the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos and also spending one year as the offensive coordinator of the Ravens.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with players after scoring against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind on Nov 22, 2025. — Michael Caterina/Imagn Images
It's been reported — even today — that Freeman is expected to return to Notre Dame, even though NFL teams have been circling. The 40-year-old Ohio State alum has a 38-10 record at Notre Dame since 2021, winning coach of the year honors in 2024 whole taking the Irish to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Before his time as the head coach, Freeman spent one season under Brian Kelly as defensive coordinator. Before that, he had the same role at Cincinnati and Purdue.
Freeman is known in coaching circles as an outstanding motivator, and he would bring some of the same things that Tomlin brought to the table. It's less clear if his defensive scheme would be a fit at the NFL level.
Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning during a game against Penn State on Sept. 27, 2025. — Matthew Lynch / Nittany Sports Now
A disciple of Nick Saban at Alabama and Kirby Smart at Georgia, Dan Lanning brought a lot of the best parts of those coaches, especially on defense, to the Pacific Northwest when he took the Oregon job in 2022.
He uses a lot of Saban's formational tendencies that have been widely copied by NFL coaches, meaning his scheme should be a solid fit in the pro game, with the Steelers specifically liking how Derrick Harmon was able to transition from Oregon's defense to the Steelers'. And hey, Lanning at least knows the lay of the land in Pittsburgh. His first collegiate coaching gig was as a GA at Pitt in 2011.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti during a game against Penn State on Nov, 8, 2025. — Matthew Lynch / Nittany Sports Now
This is a list that is mostly young, defensive-minded coaches with NFL experience. Curt Cignetti is 64, he was a quarterback, and has never coached in the NFL.
So why is here? Just doing the best job of coaching about any team in any sport at any level over the last two years. Cignetti has Indiana in the College Football Playoff national championship. Indiana. He's from Pittsburgh, played at West Virginia, and coached at Pitt and IUP. He walks and talks Yinzer. Is this a great hire? I don't know. But I'd pick up the phone.
He's done a great job with the Browns and it would be hilarious to poach from their staff amid their usual turmoil, but he's both older and a retread.
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Saleh is younger, and his only head coaching stint was with the New York Jets. We've learned that failure with the Jets doesn't necessarily portend failure elsewhere, and Saleh has done a nice job with the 49ers.
Hafley had a short stint as a head coach at Boston College before jumping back to the pro ranks to take over as Green Bay's defensive coordinator. Before that, he spent some time in the AFC North with the Cleveland Browns, and way before that, spent five years at Pitt.
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 8, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
I really don't think this is a road the Steelers will go down, and Stefanski has already been connected to a number of other positions, but it's hard to argue he isn't one of the better options out there. A two-time NFL Coach of the Year, Stefanski did a lot with a little in Cleveland, and it sure seems that his departure was mostly about chafing with ownership's meddling than it was anything else. It'd be fun to have a head coach that dedicated to sticking it to Cleveland.
You've probably never heard of Anthony Campanile. You had probably never heard of Mike Tomlin before the Steelers hired him in 2007, either. Campanile was a part of Flores' staff with the Dolphins, serving as linebackers coach. In 2024, he jumped to the Packers, adding run game coordinator to his title, before becoming the defensive coordinator with the Jaguars this season.
Working for an offensive head coach in Liam Coen, Campanile took the Jaguars from 27th to eight in points against. The team spent big money to bring in one player on defense: cornerback Jourdan Lewis , and the highest draft pick to contribute extensively on defense was their fourth-rounder.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh during a AFC Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 12, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Absolutely won't happen. But the funniest possible outcome.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Saunders: 19 Potential Coaching Candidates as Steelers Replace Mike Tomlin
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