Steelers Should Stay Away From Latest Coaching Rumor

The Risks of Hiring Cristobal

To be fair to Cristobal, he's coached in the collegiate ranks for nearly 30 years at this point and on paper has the experience necessary to at least garner consideration from NFL organizations, though there had been little buzz on that front in general before Baldinger spoke on Pittsburgh's alleged interest.

The head coach at Florida International from 2007 to 2012, where he compiled a 27-47 record, Cristobal later served as an associate head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2013 to 2016.

He parlayed that into the head coaching job at Oregon beginning in 2017, where he posted a 35-13 record through 2021 before leaving for Miami, his alma mater, ahead of the 2022 campaign.

With the Hurricanes, Cristobal has gone 35-19 up to this point and just guided them to their first College Football Playoff appearance in program history.

Regardless of the fact that he's among the top head coaches in the NCAA at the moment and is highly-regarded at that level, it's not in Pittsburgh's nature to hire a college coach unless it's an up-and-comer like Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman.

Considering Freeman has announced that he's returning to the Fighting Irish instead of pursuing professional opportunities, the Steelers have no reason to seriously look into any other collegiate candidates, including Cristobal.

You'd think that if Cristobal were truly an NFL-caliber coach, he'd have already at least interviewed for a few openings over the years. That hasn't been the case for the 55-year-old, though, which is rather telling, and while it's possible that he prefers to remain in the NCAA as opposed to jumping up a level, nothing about his background screams out that he'd find much success in Pittsburgh or really anywhere else in the league.

It's fine if the Steelers admire Cristobal's work from afar, but actually hiring him in a world where Baldinger's report does have some merit would be far too risky of a proposition for the franchise.

Steelers' Path to Their Next HC

Mike Tomlin's decision to step down after 19 years with the Steelers means there's quite a bit of turnover heading the team's way this offseason.

They've already conducted in-person interviews with Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as well as former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Additionally, they're set to do the same with Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver to close out the week.

Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase profile as potentially strong candidates for Pittsburgh as well after going through virtual interviews with the team. The pair is not allowed to interview with them in-person until next week, however, as the Rams are about to face off against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game.

Pittsburgh has typically hired younger, defensive-minded head coaches who flew a bit under-the-radar before joining the organization, as was the case with Tomlin and Bill Cowher.

Cristobal doesn't fit that bill given he's in his mid-50s and has an offensive background. That's not to say the Steelers couldn't change their tone in terms of their preferences at head coach, though, and it seems like they are willing to do so given their interest in someone like Scheelhaase.

For a number of reasons, however, Cristobal can't, and shouldn't, be the answer for them.