Though it can be annoyingly slow, the Steelers’ hiring process is worthwhile.

When the news broke on November 21, do you recall where you were? On that day, the Steelers declared Matt Canada, their offensive coordinator, fired. For many Steelers supporters, it was a day of celebration akin to the Munchkins’ rendition of “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” from The Wizard of Oz. By making the change before the season ended, the Steelers would have an advantage over other teams in need of a new offensive coordinator and could finally move on from a historically ineffective unit.

When the Steelers’ postseason run came to an end in mid-January, those same supporters became irate that the team still hadn’t made a hire. Zac Robinson, the QB coach for the Rams, was reportedly someone the Steelers wanted to speak with; however, Robinson moved on as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator before the Steelers had the opportunity to interview him.

Anger was raging in Behind The Steel Curtain’s comment section. Were Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, and Art Rooney going too slowly in this process? According to a sample of comments left on this story on January 27, followers definitely believe so:

We will get the leftovers. The bottom of the barrel!

The 3 Amigos need to hurry up their process

I can’t wait until we hire the assistant defensive lockeroom custodian from Our Lady of the Worthless Miracle University. (a little Naked Gun humor here)

The Steelers might want to speed up the interview process before we get beat to the punch on someone that we might really want. I’d love to see a new coach named by the end of the week, any later, I’d be worried that the Pickens might be too slim.

Gonna be a Dollar Store OC like Leftwich, Getsy, or Linus Van Pelt.

It took them a bit to get there, but on Thursday they officially forced off Mike Sullivan from his post as wide receiver coach and hired Zach Azzani as the quarterback coach (a former Charges passing coordinator).

On January 30, the Steelers announced the appointment of Arthur Smith, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, as their new offensive coordinator. The Steelers had finished their 2023 postseason and were looking forward to 2024, exactly fifteen days later. But back in November, the front office understood they needed to find someone to cover this position. Why did it take so long?

For those who follow the Steelers, the gradual and methodical approach should not be shocking. The Steelers have fewer head coaches than Russia launches border attacks in a league of impatient franchises. The Black and Gold aren’t exactly renowned for their knee-jerk reactions. Less than two years ago, we were witness to this.

General manager Kevin Colbert of the Steelers announced on January 28, 2022, that he will be retiring at the end of April following the draft. The Steelers would undoubtedly recognize their future addition and include their new general manager in the selection process. Nope. Over the course of many weeks, the Steelers made it known that they had officially interviewed 11 candidates and would be inviting six of them back for follow-up interviews. The Steelers announced that they will remain in-house, promoting Omar Khan to general manager and bringing in Andy Weidl from the Philadelphia Eagles to serve as assistant general manager, nearly a full month after Colbert’s retirement date.