Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Independent student content

BG Falcon Media

Support BG Falcon Media!
As part of BGSU's One Day fundraising effort, every dollar you contribute to Falcon Media will go directly to helping us continue to produce quality content. Every dollar helps. Donate here
The BG News
Follow us on social
BG24 Newscast
March 28, 2024

  • Visiting Author: Sheila Squillante
    Last week, the visiting author, Sheila Squillante, presented the art of creative non-fiction at BGSU. Last year, her memoir came out. From Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, Squillante visited BGSU, last week. Previously, she has published collections on poetry, but most recently, her memoir, All Things Edible, Random and Odd  was published in 2023. “I […]
  • Petrofiction Review: Oil on Water
    Here’s my review of Oil on Water by Helon Habila – a petrofiction novel which won The Commonwealth Prize and Caine Prize. For context, petrofiction stems from petroleum and fiction. A specific text that focuses on petroleum culture in political economics and environmental impact. Although Habila’s novel begins with a journalist investigating a kidnapping, the […]
Spring Housing Guide

It’s official: Tomlin will replace Cowher as Steelers’ first African-American head coach

PITTSBURGH – Mike Tomlin, the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator, was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers – the first Africian American head coach in the team’s 74-year history.

He accepted the job Sunday night and the hiring was announced yesterday, with Tomlin expected to make about $2.5 million a year under a four-year contract. He is the Steelers’ third coach in 38 years, following Chuck Noll (23 seasons) and Bill Cowher (15 seasons).

Tomlin, an NFL coordinator for only one season, acknowledged it was difficult not to be overwhelmed with the opportunity to coach what he called “one of the storied franchises in sports.”

“I’m still coming to grips with what that means,” said Tomlin, who, like Cowher in 1992, will be about the same age as some of his players. “But I am what I am as coach – I don’t call myself a 34-year-old coach or an experienced coach, I’m a football coach.”

Tomlin was chosen by the Steelers on the same day two black coaches made the Super Bowl for the first time: Lovie Smith in Chicago and Tony Dungy in Indianapolis. Tomlin was once an assistant under Dungy at Tampa Bay, and he got the call from Steelers president Art Rooney II while watching the NFL conference championship games Sunday.

“He’s a good coach, a great communicator and now he’ll have a chance to show what he can do,” Dungy said yesterday.

Tomlin also might have benefited from the NFL’s so-called Rooney Rule. Steelers owner Dan Rooney successfully lobbied in 2002 for a rule that requires all NFL teams to interview minority candidates for coaching jobs.

After a successful first season as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, Tomlin’s name was one of about a dozen on a list of qualified minority candidates given Rooney at a mid-December meeting in New York. Rooney is the chairman of the NFL’s committee on workplace diversity.

The intent of the Rooney Rule was to give coaches such as Tomlin a forum to display their credentials. Tomlin was chosen largely because of the motivation, enthusiasm and organizational skills he showed in two strong interviews with Rooney, Art Rooney II and director of football operations Kevin Colbert.

“He wants to play the kind of football the Pittsburgh Steelers want to play,” Art Rooney II said of Tomlin’s focus on stopping the run, running the ball well and playing physical defense. “He wants to play the kind of football Steelers fans have come to appreciate.”

Tomlin’s hiring completed a 2 1/2-week search in which he initially was considered an unlikely choice behind perceived front-runners Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, but Whisenhunt later accepted the Arizona Cardinals’ job.

Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, the other finalist with Grimm and Tomlin, did not get a second interview because the Steelers would have had to wait until Feb. 5 to meet with him again. Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, recommended by Cowher, also didn’t get a second interview.

Tomlin will be the fourth consecutive Steelers coach who was a defensive assistant coach in his 30s with another team before being hired. Bill Austin was 37 when he was chosen in 1966, as was Chuck Noll in 1969. Cowher was 34 in 1992.

Leave a Comment
Donate to BG Falcon Media
$825
$1500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Bowling Green State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to BG Falcon Media
$825
$1500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All BG Falcon Media Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *