Who's next? 15 names to know as Steelers begin coaching search.

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers have a head coach opening for the first time in 19 years. So, who’s out there?

When the Steelers replaced Bill Cowher in 2007 with Mike Tomlin, they selected a candidate with no ties to Pittsburgh, college playing experience as a wide receiver and one season as an NFL defensive coordinator under his belt at age 34.

It’s far too early to say if history will repeat itself in the hiring process to find Tomlin’s successor, but with the coaching carousel already underway, there’s a clear pool of coaches who have positioned themselves on the radar as ready for a head coaching job. Let’s take a look at who’s available as the Steelers begin the search for their fourth coach since 1969:

Offensive minds

— Klint Kubiak, Seahawks offensive coordinator, 38. The eldest son of former Denver and Houston head coach Gary Kubiak, he’s been in the NFL ranks since 2013. He worked his way up from passing game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan with San Francisco in 2023 to New Orleans coordinator last year to Seattle this year. And the Seahawks rolled into the NFC playoffs as the No. 1 seed.

— Joe Brady, Bills offensive coordinator, 36. The guy calling plays for Josh Allen had much success as a college coach for Joe Burrow at LSU and punched his NFL ticket via that success. Fun fact: He’s also a William & Mary graduate, same as Tomlin.

— Mike LaFleur, Rams offensive coordinator, 38. He’s an OC in title, but unlike those first two, he doesn't work under a defensive head coach. LaFleur is the right-hand man of Sean McVay, arguably the preeminent head coach, offensive or otherwise, in the NFL. His older brother is Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur.

Offensive up-and-comers

— Davis Webb, Broncos passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, 30. A third-round draft pick in 2017 at the same position he coaches, Webb wrapped up his nondescript playing career in 2022 and went right to the sideline. Sean Payton snapped him up, and he’s getting interest around the league already to skip the coordinator phase and be in charge of a team.

— Jerrod Johnson, Texans quarterbacks coach, 37. No play-calling experience, but he’s been part of the development of C.J. Stroud. And two years ago, the Steelers interviewed him for their offensive coordinator position before hiring Arthur Smith, so there’s a connection there.

— Nate Scheelhaase, Rams passing game coordinator, 35. Another one from the McVay tree that Art Rooney II praised a couple of years ago, Scheelhaase was at the college level for nine years before heading to Los Angeles ahead of the 2024 season.

Defensive minds

— Jesse Minter, Chargers defensive coordinator, 42. His unit smothered the Steelers in the regular season and didn’t get much help from the offense in a wild-card playoff loss at New England. He comes from a coaching family that actually has deep ties to Tomlin, who worked for Minter’s dad Rick as a college assistant at Cincinnati.

— Matt Burke, Texans defensive coordinator, 49. Speaking of coaches whose teams stifled the Steelers offense, none did so as definitively or recently as Burke’s group. He’s a Dartmouth graduate and an NFL lifer who’s been working his way up the ladder since 2004.

— Chris Shula, Rams defensive coordinator, 39. Yes, he’s the grandson of legendary Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, and just a little more than a decade ago he was at Division III John Carroll. But he was hired to McVay’s original staff with the Rams and is in his first year running the defense.

Local ties

— Mike McCarthy, former head coach, 62. A Greenfield native, McCarthy was out of football this season after the Dallas Cowboys fired him. But he also took a year off after his tenure ended in Green Bay and got back into it. He’s known Steelers general manager Omar Khan a long time, dating to their days together with the New Orleans Saints in the early 2000s.

— Jeff Hafley, Packers defensive coordinator, 46. Hafley coached at Pitt from 2006-10, so he knows his way around the city and the facility. More importantly, he’s gone from college to the NFL back to college as an Ohio State coordinator and then Boston College head coach, a post he left to call the defense in Green Bay.

— Antwaan Randle El, Bears assistant head coach and receivers coach, 46. Chicago is still in the playoffs, and a Steelers Super Bowl icon is just below first-year coach Ben Johnson on the marquee. Randle El’s stock might even be higher now than another ex-Steeler, Larry Foote, who’s the run-game coordinator for Tampa Bay.

Bounce-backs

— Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator, 44. He could’ve gone into the previous category, too, given his stint in 2022 as a Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. His time with Miami ended in controversy, but his Minnesota defenses have been fierce.

— Robert Saleh, 49ers defensive coordinator, 46. Saleh’s time with the Jets ended even worse than Flores with the Dolphins, but there’s no denying his stellar work on his side of the ball. That’s what got him that New York gig in the first place.

— John Harbaugh, former head coach, 63. The Steelers wouldn’t … would they? Might as well toss in Kevin Stefanski, too, to round out the recently fired coaches from the AFC North.