When the “Cowher Power” era ended in January of 2007 I had hoped that Ken Whisenhunt would take his place.  Ken’s a Georgia Tech Alumni, and from Augusta, Georgia. Ken was also Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator the same year the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger (2004). That year Roethlisberger went on to set an NFL record with wins in his first 13 career starts en route to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The next season he became the youngest QB in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. (Pittsburgh’s 5th Super Bowl victory and Lombardi Trophy.)

When Mike Tomlin’s name appeared, I had never heard of him before he was hired as Pittsburgh’s 3rd Head Coach since 1969. He came out of nowhere and like anyone you never heard of before, you have doubts as to their abilities and effectiveness to lead an NFL team to the playoffs. About the only thing I felt comfortable with was that Tomlin got his NFL start as a Coach with Tony Dungy down in Tampa.

Tomlin did however make an almost immediate impact in a positive way. Tomlin liked the so-called Tampa 2 cover scheme popularized by Dungy and assistant Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay, one that had its roots in Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s — a defense that played a 4-3. Dungy played on one of those four Steelers Super Bowl-winning teams.

But Tomlin didn’t rush to install the 4-3 and instead retained defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, a proponent of the 3-4 and zone blitzing schemes. Tomlin matched his defenses to the skills of the players he had — and that produced the leagues #1 overall defense this year.

Tomlin was quoted in a 2007 Press Conference, “You’ve got to be flexible and do what your guys do well.”

Smart guy. It was a remarkable move, and one that looks to have certainly paid off. Not many have that type of humility to admit they might not have the best “game plan” in order to achieve success. Tomlin realized however, that the defense he was inheriting was not only built for 3-4, but it was successful under the guidance of Dick LeBeue.

Ken Whisenhunt on the other hand, took a team, and a culture that has not seen a Championship in over half a century and has guided them to the Super Bowl in only his second year. While I don’t know Arizona as well as Pittsburgh, I believe many of the same talent is still there when Whisenhunt landed the job two years ago. In a way, what Whisenhunt has done with the Cardinals is even MORE remarkable than what Tomlin has done. Tomlin’s team and philosophy was already there, for decades, just like Whisenhunt’s. The difference is that Whisenhunt needed to change the team’s thinking and structure in order to make it a winner.

Whisenhunt took what he knew best, that being a philosophy and thinking to turn a struggling team who’s only had one winning season since 1990 and landed them in the World Championship. Not to take anything away from Mike Tomlin, because what he has been able to maintain as a winning attitude says something about his leadership, but Ken Whisenhunt just created one of those “Extreme Makeovers” that Pittsburgh first started to see back in 1969 with the hiring of Chuck Noll. (After some 40 years of losing.)

I received a comment here on the blog and also have gotten e-mails and phone calls that Pittsburgh should be able to handle Arizona in the Super Bowl. With the Leagues best defense this year in the NFL, it certainly makes the match up attractive. However, before I go pounding my chest over any match up, I need to look at the last three weekends of playoff football. I recall the same speculation from experts who thought Atlanta, Carolina, AND Philadelphia should advance and all three teams will be at home in a little less than two weeks watching Arizona play against my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.

That’s why they play the game.

I wasn’t sure about this match up or if I even liked the idea of an Arizona vs Pittsburgh Super Bowl. Honestly, like most everyone else, thought Pittsburgh vs Philidelphia would be printed on the tickets. Now that it’s had some time to digest, I like the connection, because I like Whisenhunt and the story he brings to this event.

Not everyone that follows the NFL will appreciate it the way I do. But then again, I’m not the average NFL fan. I love the game, the League, and my team. I have for as long as I can remember. Of course, winning 5 Championships tends to lend a hand in that.

We’ll have to see if we can start adding rings to the other hand on February 1st, 2009.

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Tags: NFL, NFL Playoffs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers, Super Bowl

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.