Steelers' Ramon Foster Endorsed An Emerging Guru As Pittsburgh's Next Offensive Coordinator

The Pittsburgh Steelers' hunt for a new offensive coordinator is underway. Fans were relieved when Head Coach Mike Tomlin announced that the organization planned to look outside of their current staff for someone to fill the spot during his end-of-season press conference. While the Steelers are likely to play their cards close to their vest until a decision is made, they have still announced some names of candidates they are interested in. The unusual decision to go outside the organization has led fans and the media to speculate wildly about who they will hire. One former player, Ramon Foster, was asked recently about the opening. He offered one surprising name. 

Foster now co-hosts a podcast called The Ramon Foster Show with a Pittsburgh sports reporter Dejan Kovacevic, which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports. On a recent show, he was asked who he thinks would be a great hire at offensive coordinator. He offered up a name that he said might cause some folks to look at him funny, but he stands by the coach as a strong option. 

"Thomas Brown, he was the interim OC for the [Carolina] Panthers. He was also on the Super Bowl Championship team with the [Los Angeles] Rams. He has the ability to call plays, he has called plays at the college level and at the NFL level too. What happened to Carolina this year was a full-fledged cr*p show, ain't no other way around it, it's from the top."

As Foster mentioned, Thomas Brown spent this past season with the Carolina Panthers as their offensive coordinator. Before the 2023 season, he helped the Los Angeles Rams win a Super Bowl. He was hired in 2020 as a running backs coach and was given a promotion on top of that in 2021 as the assistant head coach. In 2022, he moved over to being the tight ends coach while still being an assistant head coach. 

Foster, who is also closely involved with the Tennessee Titans, said that the Titans have been looking at Brown for their offensive coordinator position. He just completed a second interview with him because they were so impressed with what he brings to the table. Foster agrees with the Titans and thinks he would be a good, more modern fit. 

"I can see him being a guy that you reach out to that's young, innovative, have respect. I think in Miami, during his play-calling, I think they averaged about 30 points a game. And I know this is college, but he also operated in the LA Rams offense. Also, he has play-calling knowledge in the NFL too."

Brown, who was a running back, also has experience playing in the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round in 2008 by the Atlanta Falcons. He was injured by a horse collar tackle during his rookie season and ended up being waived after being on injured reserve. In 2009, he was signed to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad for a year. 

After leaving the NFL, he spent time coaching running backs in college at several universities including the University of Miami, the University of Georgia, and the University of South Carolina. 

The Steelers Need A Fresh New Approach To Hiring Offensive Coordinators

Pittsburgh loves homegrown guys. Their last two Offensive Coordinators, Randy Fichtner and Matt Canada, were both the quarterbacks coach for the Steelers before getting promoted. Neither had a ton of NFL experience before taking over the reins of the entire offense. Canada, who'd spent the majority of his career as a coordinator and/or quarterbacks coach in college, was only with Pittsburgh for one season prior to being promoted. 

Canada was sold to fans as being this innovative, creative mind that had been able to outperform opponents, but that wasn't the case in Pittsburgh. The Steelers offense was stale and stagnant. Opponents were constantly reporting that the play-calling was predictable.

All of this has led to most analysts pleading for Tomlin to set his pride aside and hire someone who can bring the offense into 2024. Tomlin, who has a background calling the defense, has struggled to find an offensive coordinator who checks all the boxes and won't vacate the position in one year. In this new, flashier, high-scoring NFL, offensive coordinators who are able to light up the scoreboard don't last long before they get snatched up by another team as a head coach. 

The Steelers did announce that they are requesting to interview Zac Robinson, the pass game coordinator for the Rams. Robinson has shown in Los Angeles that he can lead the kind of offense we need. But Foster thinks that Brown is someone who is not getting the attention he deserves. Now that Tennessee is so interested in him, the cat is out of the bag. If the Steelers want him, they are going to have to strike fast.