Betting favorite to become next Steelers head coach has a last name the Bengals know very well
The son of a former Bengals head coach is looking to be a head coach himself.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for a new head coach for the first time in 19 years, and the Cincinnati Bengals should recognize the name of their most likely hire.
Per Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula entered Wednesday as the betting favorite to become Pittsburgh’s next HC. The Steelers officially began their search to replace Mike Tomlin Tuesday after Tomlin stepped down from the gig.
Shula is a very famous last name in the NFL. Don Shula is the winningest HC in the history of the league, and was the grandfather of Chris.
Chris’ father, Don’s son, is where infamous Cincinnati history comes into play.
Former Bengals HC Dave Shula’s son is in the mix to coach the Steelers
There have been 10 coaches in the 58 years of the Bengals. Dave Shula has the second-worst win percentage of the 10.
Shula was the HC in Cincinnati from 1992-96. He was fired after eight games in 1996 when the team’s record was 1-6. He finished with a career record of 19-52, and his win percentage of 26.8% is only better than Dick LeBeau’s 26.7% figure during his three-year run from 2000-02.
When football historians remember the Bengals in the 1990s, they’re most likely remembering the years Shula was in charge of the team. His first three years running the operation resulted in just 11 wins. His fourth year in 1995 was looking just as bleak after a 2-4 start, but winning five of the last 10 games earned him another chance in ’96. His aforementioned 1-6 start did him in.
Chris Shula was 10 years old when his father was canned by Cincinnati, and another 14 years passed until he got into coaching himself, continuing the family tradition. Five years of coaching at the collegiate level eventually earned him his first NFL gig in 2015 as the San Diego Chargers’ defensive quality control coach. He made his way to the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 when Sean McVay was hired as HC. Shula and McVay were teammates at Miami (OH).
Shula has been with McVay in L.A. ever since, working his way up the coaching staff until he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2024. The only way up from here is a HC gig, and McVay isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
Pittsburgh isn’t the only AFC North team interested in Shula
It didn’t take long for the Steelers to request their interview with Shula, whom they’ve been doing homework on for the past month according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Shula will eventually speak to Pittsburgh’s brass soon, and so may the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports the Browns want to interview Shula for their HC vacancy as well.
Cleveland is a week ahead of the Steelers in its coaching search, and the club has already interviewed Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
There’s a definite chance the son of an infamous Bengals coach will coach against his dad’s former team over three decades later.
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