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Why did Mike Tomlin start hiring black coaches after 15 years?

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Brian Flores … hiring Flores probably rankled Goodell To place this into context, understand that the only reason that the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago is because he was black.  Why? He had never even been a coordinator anywhere, never in the NFL. The only reason that he was interviewed was because of the “Rooney Rule.” That rule is one named after the late Dan Rooney who led the effort to force every NFL team to interview at least one black coach when it had head coaching openings.  The Steelers had focused their coaching search after Bill Cowher left on Ron Rivera, then a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Their interview with Tomlin was a peremptory one, something to satisfy the smell test.  After all, why interview a guy who was just a defensive coach? Coordinators are the people who are hired for the big gig.  Tomlin, though, is a great talker, and he wooed Dan Rooney so much that he was hired for the position.  Which begs the q...
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Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

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R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-po...
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RIP Henry Aaron, baseball slugger who became the greatest home run hitter in history and endured racial taunts, death threats, and kidnapping schemes to accomplish that — and did so with dignity, honor, and humility

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Aaron before tying Babe Ruth's record of 714 in Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati:    Photos AP 1974 … " Rest In Peace, Henry Aaron — though God may call you 'Hank'.” Henry Aaron, the Braves slugger who hated to be called “Hank,” became the greatest home run hitter in history on April 8, 1974, when he blasted his 715th home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  Aaron played for 23 years, and in 1974, was 39 years old, but he still had that great power that came from his wrists that never seemed to lose their wondrous magic.  Passing away today at the age of 86, he is remembered for his tremendous offensive feats, but he should be recalled for the honor and dignity that he displayed during that run.  That was because a black man was pursuing a record held for about a half-century by a revered white man, Babe Ruth, the Yankees slugger.  Started in the Negro leagues Born into poverty in Alabama, Aaron prevailed again...
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