What Do Mike Tomlin and the Pope Have In Common?

Well I guess really the answer is nothing, but I only pose the question because of Michael Smith's column on ESPN.com from a couple weeks back (see picture inset). Smith says at the end of the story -

"Pittsburgh changes coaches about as often as the Catholic Church elects a pope, so it has some idea what it's doing in this department.

which I thought pretty much summed it up nice and appropriately. Hence the title of this post (in case you're oblivious to life).

The article itself is all about how race was not a factor in the Steelers decision. They simply chose the best man for the job given their expectations, needs, and the skills of the prospects they were interviewing. Pretty standard stuff, right? Well the other point was actually that the Steelers, unlike many other NFL teams, didn't just invite Tomlin to interview because of the "Rooney Rule" (I'm sure you all know by now but this was spearheaded by Steelers owner Dan Rooney). They invited him because he was a qualified candidate who they thought might be a good fit for the organization.

Now, I'm not just saying this because I'm a Steeler fan, but Michael Smith is dead on. The Steelers, unlike some other teams, didn't make a snap decision but rather they went through their process even at the expense of losing Whisenhunt as a candidate. In football, like life, you have to be sure of your decisions. QBs can't just throw the ball up and hope someone catches it for a spectacular TD (Immaculate Reception aside), just like owners can't just hire someone because of the media scrutiny and fan pressure (I won't even discuss how this should not affect decisions, that goes without saying).

So thanks Michael Smith, big up yourself!

PS - You guys like how I can blog about the Steelers even when the NFL season is over...yeah, expect more of that.