It's unlikely that the Pittsburgh Steelers transition interim Offensive Coordinator Eddie Faulker or acting play-caller, Mike Sullivan to be in charge of the offense in 2024. There's always a possibility given the organization and Head Coach Mike Tomlin's obsession with promoting from inside. It's clear that the team needs to bring in an outside name and a lot of fans on social media have expressed that they would like the individual to have no ties to Pittsburgh. It seems as if Tomlin's loyalty has consistently gotten him into trouble when it comes to coaching hires. The next one might be do or die for him.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin looks in the distance as his players practice during 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
It's anyone's guess as to who is the right, and completely qualified, coach to lead the offense in 2024. It's widely accepted that the person needs to have an innovative offensive mind with the potential to turn around Kenny Pickett's career. His third season could be his final in the Steel City if he doesn't show significant improvement moving forward.
Mark Kaboly, an insider for The Athletic, has covered the team for two decades and has a better sense of what might be going on in the building than most. He threw out dozens of names to take a look at in his recently published piece, but one in particular stood out because he has been very under the radar since departing the NFL after the 2022 campaign. He believes former Arizona Cardinals Head Coach, Kliff Kingsbury should be in the discussion.
"Kingsbury is considered one of the better offensive strategists around, making him a very attractive candidate for an offense that has been mired in predictable schemes since Todd Haley was fired. Kingsbury has a relationship with Tomlin and spent time at Steelers practices in the past, before he became an NFL coach. Kingsbury coached Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray to success in college and then with Murray in the pros."
Kingsbury was 28-37-1 during his time at the helm in Arizona. The record isn't flashy, but he helped earn Kyler Murray Offensive Rookie of the Year honors back in 2019. The Cardinals also finished at 11-6 in 2021, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. He has minimal experience with the Steelers, which is likely to be the case with anyone who is hired whether fans like it or not. Kingsbury currently serves as a senior offensive analyst for the USC Trojans.
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Arizona Cardinals quarterback, Kyler Murray (#1) scrambles and attempts to make a move while carrying the football during a regular season football game.
A shocking turn of events would be the Steelers moving on from Pickett and bringing in both Kingsbury and then Murray via trade for a reunion. There's an extremely slim chance of this happening given Pittsburgh's "draft and develop" history and Murray's contract, but it's hard not to have your mind go there when someone like Kaboly tosses out a name like Kingsbury as a potential fix at offensive coordinator.
There is going to be a countless amount of names thrown around for the rest of the 2023 season and into the offseason. The main thing that is certain is that the Steelers can't mess it up this time around. Hiring the now-fired Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada was a miserable failure and there is no room for that to happen again in an offensive-minded league.
It will be crucial for someone not named Tomlin to be heavily involved in the process. Omar Khan and Andy Weidl are very capable of working with him to bring in the right candidate for the job. Art Rooney II should absolutely require this as the Steelers look for their future at offensive coordinator in 2024.
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Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II roams the sidelines prior to a 2022 preseason matchup at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steelers Leadership Needs To Start Holding Tomlin More Accountable
Pittsburgh hasn't had a good offensive play-caller since Bruce Arians was running the show. The Todd Haley tenure wasn't horrible by any means, but it chalks up as a loss because of his poor relationship with Ben Roethlisberger. Tomlin didn't receive a contract extension in the 2023 offseason and that should hint at the fact that Rooney is starting to contemplate if Tomlin's time with the Steelers may be coming to an end.
Who do you think the Steelers should bring in as offensive coordinator in 2024? Let us know in the comments below!
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