The NFL’s annual coaching carousel is still spinning, and as of now, five head coach positions remain unfilled-including one of the league’s most storied franchises: the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh’s search got off to a late start, with Mike Tomlin officially stepping down only after the team’s Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans. Now, with the Baltimore Ravens locking in Jesse Minter as their new head coach, the Steelers are suddenly one of the most high-profile jobs still on the board.
And make no mistake: this opening is drawing attention.
Among the candidates still in play are some intriguing names. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula is getting buzz, as is Rams passing game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase. Former Steelers DC and current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is also in the mix, and that’s a name that carries a lot of weight in Pittsburgh circles.
But there’s another candidate who’s been in the conversation-albeit as more of a dark horse: Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Despite being considered a long shot by many, Weaver has already interviewed twice with the Steelers. And if you ask ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, that should be more than enough to get him the job.
“Sign me up for Weaver in Pittsburgh,” Orlovsky said during an appearance on NFL Live, reacting to a report that Weaver impressed during a Zoom interview with the team. “I am a huge Weaver guy.
I always look at coaches like I look at quarterbacks: can you take a bad roster and make them competent, or can you take a good roster and give us a chance to win a championship? I think he was part of a lesser-talented roster in Miami, and they fought every single week.”
Orlovsky’s endorsement is strong, and it highlights something that’s often overlooked in these coaching searches: leadership under less-than-ideal circumstances. Weaver’s Dolphins defense was banged up and thin in spots, but the unit still showed flashes of competitiveness. That said, the numbers don’t exactly do him any favors.
Miami’s 2025 defensive metrics under Weaver weren’t pretty. The Dolphins ranked 24th in DVOA, 25th in EPA per play, 24th in points allowed per game, 22nd in yards allowed per game, and 26th in yards per play. No matter how you spin it, that’s a bottom-tier defense in most key categories.
Still, context matters. Miami’s defensive roster was far from elite, and Weaver wasn’t exactly working with a full deck.
The question for the Steelers-and any team considering him-is whether Weaver can step into a head coaching role not just as a schemer, but as a CEO-type leader who sets the tone, manages the staff, and builds a culture. That’s not uncommon in today’s NFL, where many successful head coaches delegate play-calling to coordinators and focus on the bigger picture.
So, is Weaver that guy? That’s what Pittsburgh has to figure out.
There’s no universal blueprint for hiring a successful head coach. Sometimes it’s the hot-shot coordinator with the elite scheme.
Sometimes it’s the steady hand who commands a room and lets his assistants shine. The Steelers have always valued culture, continuity, and leadership-and in that sense, Weaver may check more boxes than his résumé suggests.
Still, with other candidates like Shula, Scheelhaase, and Flores in the mix, Weaver likely enters the final stretch of this hiring cycle a step behind. Whether that gap can be closed depends on how much the Steelers value intangible leadership over raw defensive production. Either way, the clock is ticking in Pittsburgh-and the decision they make next could shape the franchise’s direction for years to come.