Asked and Answered: Aug. 9

BILL ROTHENBACH FROM ABINGDON, MD: As a lifelong out-of-town Steelers fan I really appreciate the information I get from your columns. My question concerns the defensive coaching staff. With Coach Mike Tomlin apparently heavily involved in play-calling for the defense in the past, with Teryl Austin as a new defensive coordinator, and with Brian Flores as a former head coach, do you think there might be “too many cooks in the kitchen” on the defensive side of the ball? Do you think this may lead to any confusion or do you think the roles have been clearly spelled out?
ANSWER: Dealing in pure hypotheticals can lead to any result you’re seeking. If you go into this with the idea that the combination of Coach Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and senior defensive assistant/linebackers Brian Flores will devolve into a clash of egos that is detrimental to the team over the course of the season, then you can convince yourself of that. If you go into this with the idea that the same combination of three men is going to yield new ideas and possibly some innovations that could allow a talented defense to take the next step toward becoming a dominant unit, then you can convince yourself of that. So far there is absolutely no evidence one way or the other of how this arrangement is going to work. My experience is that there are two kinds of NFL coaches – those who want to win, and those who want to be right on the way to winning.

When he was hired by the Steelers in 2007, Tomlin proved he wasn’t in the latter group when he made no changes to the 3-4, zone-blitz defense Dick LeBeau had installed instead of switching to the 4-3, Tampa-2 style he had been taught as a young assistant under Tony Dungy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Said Tomlin at the time, “That decision was very easy for me. To me, that’s all ego-driven when people come in and believe they have to put their stamp on things. Why would you fix something that’s not broken? That’s just me. I’m more…