Bill Cowher Gives Steelers Stern Warning About Ongoing Search For New Head Coach

The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently one of five teams, as of Friday afternoon, not to have hired a new head coach just yet. There is still plenty of time for organizations to vet candidates and completely fall in love with one, but that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be some sense of urgency. Mike Tomlin threw a lot of people for a loop when he decided to walk away from his role in the Steel City, and now the front office has several pivotal decisions to make, while truly not having much experience due to the fact that the position was occupied for almost two decades.

Only three individuals have been lucky enough to run the locker room for the Steelers since the 1969 season. Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher were the other two alongside Tomlin. The trio combined for six Super Bowl titles and the newcomer will have plenty of pressure on himself to deliver relatively soon. Fans in Pittsburgh are hungry for success in the postseason again.

On Friday, Cowher took the time to speak with The Pat McAfee Show and went into detail about a lot of current NFL topics. When the plethora of head-coaching vacancies came up, he expressed sincere concern over teams waiting too long to find their man. The Steelers, a franchise that is historically patient and methodical, should be paying attention.

"The biggest thing for me was making sure I got myself a staff," Cowher said. "I think that's the biggest thing right now for some of these teams. There are some good assistant coaches out there, but they're going to keep being taken up as you wait, the longer you wait. So, I think there's a lot to be said for that with the standpoint if you make your coach now, he's got a little bit more of a pool of coaches that he can put around him and I think that's a big part of your success is your assistant coaches."

This is extremely important advice from Cowher. A head coach being efficient and having leadership capabilities is important, but he is only as good as the staff around him. If Pittsburgh drags out the process and decides not to hire soon, then top assistants around the league could already be accepting roles elsewhere. The Steelers are known for having a relatively small staff, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter who fills those roles.

The Steelers need to make sure that they get this hire correctly. Following up Tomlin will not be easy, and not winning in the playoffs since the 2016 campaign only adds to the urgency. With that said, Pittsburgh could pick the perfect candidate, but then that individual may not have the chance to hire top-tier assistants across the NFL. There are pros and cons to Art Rooney II's style, but it seems as if Cowher is warning him to pick a new head coach soon.

Steelers May Have A Sneaky Plan To Get 2 For The Price Of 1

Pittsburgh is likely waiting for the NFC Championship Game to be over so that the franchise can get a more in-depth process completed with both Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase. The duo has received plenty of interest in this head-coaching cycle. While assistants are a crucial part of any organization, Rooney and co. could land their next offensive and defensive coordinator with just those two.

If the decision is made to hire Shula as the head coach, he could very easily ask Scheelhaase to tag along so that he can be the offensive coordinator. A staff will still have to be rounded out, but this would take care of the two most important pieces that the team needs. A lot of possibilities are out there, but it is important for Pittsburgh to listen to Cowher and not drop the ball.

Do you think that the Steelers are dragging out the hiring process? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation