[simple simon]

Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, has been chosen as the Pittsburgh Steelers' new head coach, SI.com has learned.

The official announcement is expected to come sometime in the next two days.

Tomlin, 34, impressed the Steelers during the interview process with his organization skills, intelligence and grasp of the game, according to a source familiar with the coaching search.

Before joining the Vikings a year ago, Tomlin had spent five years as a defensive coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Before that, he was a college assistant at Cincinnati, Arkansas State, Memphis and Virginia Military Institute.

SI.com - NFL - Michael Silver: Steelers choose Vikes' Tomlin - Saturday January 20, 2007 2:15PM

[simple simon]

i am a little surprised they didnt pick Grimm

glad to see they picked a young guy though.....hopefully he will have a long happy career

[Lefty Noob]

Well, hard to go against the Steelers. More than any other franchise, they seem to have a knack for picking quality head coaches.

[kenman923]

Now that's a slap in the face to Russ Grimm. Maybe when Marty Schottenheimer leaves San Diego, Grimm could be in line for that job.

[EmpireWF]

The trend for picking young coordinators continues. It's worked for the Jets and Saints specifically, so if the guy impressed them he should do well enough.

[ThePundit]

I never heard of yhis guy. Is he related to Lilly?

[Lefty Noob]

Well, it's official -- Tomlin is the new head coach of the Steelers. Tomlin is another former Buccaneers assistant, coaching there two years ago before taking over as the Vikings defensive coordinator. Now he's been signed to a four-year deal worth about $2.5 million per season.

[simple simon]

well Lefty, i had my doubts

but, apparently my sources are better the your sources

i do think its a good hire though........he looks like just the righ combination of nice guy who wont take crap from troublemakers

[Lefty Noob]

What I don't get is retaining Lebeau. The Steelers obviously don't have the personnel right now to run the Tampa Cover 2, but you'd think Tomlin would want to start working in that direction. But Lebeau's zone blitz schemes are directly opposed to this philosophy.

Mike Tomlin Has Very Little Experience As An Nfl Coorinator,,,, What Makes You Think That He Will Be A Good Head Coach? Dumb Move On The Rooney"s Shame,shame,shame,i Will Never Watch There Games Again, I Hope They Lose Every Game. Mr.grimm Should Of Got The Job!

Tomlin is takeing us to the super bowl next year, goooooooood choice by the roonys.

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by CHRISSY32

Mr.grimm Should Of Got The Job!

im not sure how you can make that strong an assesment as you werent in on the process

maybe Grimm is real bad interview or something..........there is some reason we dont know about why he didnt get the job

the Rooneys seem to have a good history of knowing what theyre doing

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by simple simon

i am a little surprised they didnt pick Grimm

glad to see they picked a young guy though.....hopefully he will have a long happy career

34?...Too young...he will go joy riding with Big Ben...

[Lefty Noob]

Not totally sold on Tomlin, but I'm giving Rooney the benefit of the doubt.

When you only have two coaches in like 30+ years, you tend to know what you're doing.

[Notorious C.L.E.]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

What I don't get is retaining Lebeau. The Steelers obviously don't have the personnel right now to run the Tampa Cover 2, but you'd think Tomlin would want to start working in that direction. But Lebeau's zone blitz schemes are directly opposed to this philosophy.

There are two types of coaches in football, fundamentalists and schemers. Tomlin is the type of coach that believes you work with what you got and adjust accordingly. While he has worked with the Tampa 2 the majority of his career, he never felt enough love to marry himself to it. Since the Steelers lack the personnel for a smooth transition to the Tampa 2, I imagine the 3-4 will be their base defense with a gradual move towards a Tampa 2. However, I think they could put the Tampa 2 in as a sub package, because their nickel defense is worthless.

I think it is important to understand that there is a difference between Cover 2 and Tampa 2. The Cover 2 just describes the type of coverage shell that the defense is playing on any particular play. Simply put, it is zone coverage with the safeties covering half the field each, thus the name. Every team in the NFL features some Cover 2 elements. However, Tampa 2 describes the type of defense played. Simply put, it is a philosophy that incorporates the aggressive ideas that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used from 1996-2007.