Whisenhunt hired by Cards as Head Coach

[Abe Sargent]

Why would one fo the two heir apparents in P-Burgh jump early? I'll be watching this closley over the next few days.


hxxp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2731184


-Anxiety

[Eaglesfan27]

Why would one fo the two heir apparents in P-Burgh jump early? I'll be watching this closley over the next few days.


hxxp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2731184


-Anxiety


Maybe, he felt Pittsburgh was leaning away from him?


Maybe, he thinks Leinart, Boudin, and Fitzgerald offer the greater chance for success?

Maybe it was a money issue?


Maybe, he didn't want to have to deal with the pressure of following Bill Cowert?




In any case, as a Matt Leinart fan I'm happy with this hire.

[jaygr]

As a Steelers fan who has been keeping close watch on the hiring situation, I'd have to say that Whiz gathered (was told?) he did not have much of a shot at the Steelers job. He made it well known that he really wanted the job, which in turn might have even led to him not getting the Atlanta job.

I am not sure what to think. It may mean that Grimm is the front-runner, or that the Steelers are looking to go in a new direction. If they hire Chan Gailey I might cry.

[cougarfreak]

Because his agent wants to represent two more head coaches. Grimm and Wizzy have the same agent.

[RPI-Fan]

If they hire Chan Gailey I might cry.

And all the GT fans out there might rejoice...

[bhlloy]

For a QB/passing game guru, I'd imagine that the chance to work with Leinart and the WR's that the Cardinals have was pretty hard to pass up.

[stevew]

Steelers really like Ron Rivera i heard as well. Good luck Whiz, he's in a great situation to really succeed.

[clintl]

Steelers really like Ron Rivera i heard as well. Good luck Whiz, he's in a great situation to really succeed.

You're forgetting that the Bidwills still own that team.

[stevew]

You're forgetting that the Bidwills still own that team.

Call me an optimist, but I think the "new NFL" of the last several years is not going to continue to tolerate bullshit. There is just too much money to be lost when an organization in a huge market is not on par with the others. Maybe not, though.

[muns]

I don't remember where I heard this in the last day or so, but supposedly Mike Sherman has a really good shot. They seem to be leaning toward someone with previous head coaching experience on the NFL level for some reason.


The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting today that the Steelers asked for permission but they wont set up an interview with him.

Count me in the camp that does NOT want to see Chan Gailey back. I wasn't impressed by what he did in Dallas, even if that isnt fair.

[jaygr]

The word is that the Steelers have narrowed it down to three: Tomlin, Grimm, and Rivera. Tomlin will be interviewed again tomorrow, Grimm on Wednesday, and with Rivera still in the playoffs they can't interview him again.

The more I hear, the more I like Tomlin. The only thing I fear is that either Tomlin or Rivera would spell the end of Dick Lebeau and the 3-4 in Pittsburgh.

[Ryche]

I'm pretty sure Tomlin would bring in a cover two defense since that has been his experience. I'm really surprised he's getting so much attention already this year. He has done a great job with the Vikings defense and you can see he has the talent to lead a team.

But the Vikings pass defense was awful this year, almost last in the league. Teams stopped running against them, not because the run defense was so good, but because they knew they didn't have to bother. If I'm hiring him as a head coach, I'd like to see how he fixes that first.

Ahh, who am I kidding, I just don't want to see the Vikings lose him.

[stevew]

The word is that the Steelers have narrowed it down to three: Tomlin, Grimm, and Rivera. Tomlin will be interviewed again tomorrow, Grimm on Wednesday, and with Rivera still in the playoffs they can't interview him again.

The more I hear, the more I like Tomlin. The only thing I fear is that either Tomlin or Rivera would spell the end of Dick Lebeau and the 3-4 in Pittsburgh.

I don't really think that they have good enough OLB's to run the 3/4 anyways, so I'm not sure that switching it to a 4/3 would make that huge of a difference. If Kiesel can slim down a bit, he may have decent success playing the 4/3 RDE. I think Aaron Smith could move inside if he had too, Hampton is a beast anyways, so I think he will fare well.

[Thomkal]

Good move for my beloved Cards I think. Bring in some new blood and see what he can do rather than hiring an experienced coach who's had good times and bad. Seems like Whisenhunt is well respected in NFL circles. A bit surprised they got him though as they were leaning towards Rivera of the Bears I thought. Maybe Norm Chow too since he'd be familar with Leinart.

So what do the Pittsburgh fans/media think of Whisenhunt?

[Blade6119]

Steelers' Grimm follows Whisenhunt to Cardinals
Associated Press

PHOENIX -- Russ Grimm was hired as the Arizona Cardinals' assistant head coach and offensive line coach Tuesday, two weeks after he interviewed for the head coaching position.

Grimm's hiring comes two days after erroneous reports that the Pittsburgh Steelers had chosen him to replace retired coach Bill Cowher. Grimm wanted the Steelers job but said he was happy to reunite with Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, a former Steelers staffmate.

"It's about 23 degrees and snowing, so I'm looking forward to the weather," Grimm told reporters on a conference call from Pittsburgh.

Grimm interviewed for the Cardinals' and Steelers' top jobs. After the Cardinals hired Whisenhunt, Grimm appeared to emerge as the leading candidate to succeed Cowher.

On Sunday, a published report in the Pittsburgh area said the club would promote Grimm. But the Steelers instead hired Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin.

Grimm seemed disappointed but wasn't bitter over the way events played out.

"Obviously, it was tough," Grimm said. "I thought I had a shot at it. Whatever the details are and things like that, I respect the decision that was made.

"It's time to move on," he added. "I'm thrilled to be in Arizona."

The 47-year-old Grimm will be charged with improving the Cardinals' offensive line, which drew heavy criticism during the team's 5-11 season.

"Obviously, I know Russ very well from our time together with the Steelers and adding a coach of his caliber to the staff is tremendous," Whisenhunt said in a statement.

Grimm worked as an assistant with the Steelers the last six seasons. He spent the previous 19 years with the Washington Redskins -- as an all-pro guard for 11 seasons (1981-91) and then as an assistant coach for eight (1992-2000).

Grimm is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He said he's not anxious about the Feb. 3 vote in Miami.

"I tend to concentrate on the things I have control over," Grimm said. "Something like that is exciting, but it's something that's out of my hands."

Grimm is the fifth assistant to join Whisenhunt's staff. He joins defensive backs coach Teryl Austin, linebackers coach Billy Davis, strength and conditioning coach John Lott and special teams coach Kevin Spencer.

Grimm said it wouldn't be strange to work for Whisenhunt after competing with him for top jobs in Arizona and Pittsburgh.

"I don't mind riding shotgun," Grimm said.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[stevew]

Well, at least Cardinals fan(s) should be excited. There is no way Russ Grimm can make your line any worse than it already is.