Sports News

The Steelers’ season may be over but there’s plenty to talk about…

Welcome back to BTSC’s Friday night open thread:

1. Welp, the offseason is officially here. How much football will you be watching now that the Steelers are out of the picture? What’s your ideal Super Bowl matchup?
2. There’s been a lot of negativity following the Steelers’ early playoff exit. Let’s go in another direction: Who was the most underrated Steeler of 2024?
3. Back to the negativity: There’s been a ton of talk of the Steelers moving on from several members of the coaching staff, most notably (and realistically), Pat Meyer and Teryl Austin. If those coaches are let go, who are your ideal replacements?
4. Of the non-quarterbacks, the Steelers’ biggest name unrestricted free agents are Najee Harris, James Daniels, Donte Jackson, and Dan Moore Jr. Of the four, rank them from most to least likely to return in 2025. If you want, also rank them in order of whether or not YOU would bring them back in 2025.
5. Meta question: As BTSC wraps up the season and starts looking ahead to the offseason, what kind of articles do you want to read?
6. It’s January, which means it’s end-of-year list season for a number of media-centric outlets. What the best thing you read/heard/watched from 2024?

BONUS: My song of the night, from one of the better pop albums of last year:

So, settle down for the weekend, share your food and drink of choice, and let’s talk some football.

The list of candidates for the Falcons’ defensive coordinator spot continues to grow. Steelers secondary coach Grady Brown will interview for the position today, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The team has since announced the meeting has taken place.

Brown spent time with the Seahawks and Chiefs as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship in 2004 and ’07, respectively. That was followed by a lengthy college coaching tenure; from 2009-19, Brown worked at LSU, Southern Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisville and Old Dominion. He spent much of that time working with defensive backs.

In 2021, Brown was hired by the Steelers to serve as the team’s secondary coach. He has remained in that capacity ever since, working with a unit currently highlighted by cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh ranked third in the league in interceptions in 2024, keeping in line with the team’s recent success with respect to forcing turnovers. While the Steelers finished 25th against the pass this past year, Brown’s work has landed him on the radar of at least one coordinator gig.

Atlanta had Jimmy Lake in place as DC for the 2024 campaign, the first with Raheem Morris as head coach in his return to the team. Lake guided the unit to a 23rd-place finish in total and scoring defense, though, and he was dismissed after the campaign. Several candidates have received a look in the search for his replacements.

Lou Anarumo (formerly of the Bengals), Don Martindale (in place at Michigan after multiple NFL gigs), Jeff Ulbrich (who finished 2024 as interim Jets head coach), Derrick Ansley (pass game coordinator for the Packers) as well as Steve Wilks (longtime NFL coach) have already interviewed with Atlanta this week. Brown’s name is the sixth on the list of contenders for the position, although finalists will likely not be known until a second round of interviews is conducted.