By Jared TrexlerLeague sources told The Phanatic on Tuesday that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin will be a leading candidate if and when head coach Bill Cowher resigns/retires as we at The Phanatic reported early Sunday.
Tomlin fills two possible important qualifications when Dan Rooney and company search for the heir apparent to Cowher, who will likely site family time as his reason for resigning. One, Tomlin is an African American and would meet the Rooney Rule established to promote more minority head coaches in the league.
Second, Tomlin is young and passionate. At 35, he has five years under his belt as a defensive assistant, serving as Vikings defensive coordinator this past season.
Sources have also told The Phanatic that the head coaching search could be one of the most captivating and intriguing in league history. After all, the Steelers replace a head coach about once every three Presidents, and the Rooneys have always had a knack of promoting up-and-coming coordinators.
The list, while not very short, includes the following names, according to our sources: current staff members Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm; head college coaches Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and Rutgers' Greg Schiano; and current NFL assistants Dom Capers, Jim Haslett -- both former Steelers defensive coordinators -- San Diego offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, and Tomlin. Other names could come to the surface in the coming days.
If we had to put our sources on the spot, they feel the short list for the Steelers vacany would include: Whisenhunt, Grimm, Ferentz, Rivera and Tomlin, though the Rooneys have been very "tight-lipped" about a successor and the above names are only based on hunches.
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