First Call: 2 NFL coaching moves have Steelers ties; bar set for Jake Guentzel's trade return?
Friday’s “First Call” spotlights a pair of NFL coaching moves that tie into the Pittsburgh Steelers. We reflect on a very important Steelers Super Bowl anniversary. The market for a Jake Guentzel trade may have just been set for the Penguins.
Also, both Robert Morris hockey teams have important conference series this weekend.
Browns out
Like the Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns are seeing some members of their 2023 coaching staff head elsewhere.
Alex Van Pelt is moving to New England. The team made that announcement Thursday. The former Pitt Panthers QB and Steelers
Some in Pittsburgh had hoped Van Pelt might join the Steelers’ staff under Arthur Smith as a passing game coordinator or quarterbacks coach. But that’s not happening now.
Also, longtime NFL offensive line coach Bill Callahan is reportedly leaving the Browns to join the Tennessee Titans. That’s where his son, Brian, recently got the head coaching job.
According to Cleveland.com beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, it’s the first time a son has ever hired his dad for an NFL coaching job.
Viva Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to hire former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as the franchise’s offensive coordinator. He’ll work under new head coach Antonio Pierce. This is according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
This move is tied to the Steelers in a few ways. First, longtime NFL reporter Peter King said on 93.7 The Fan two weeks ago that Kingsbury was going to talk with the Steelers about their offense coordinator position. If that ever ended up happening, it didn’t get announced, and the Steelers hired Arthur Smith to fill Matt Canada’s former job anyway.
But more germane to the point now, Kingsbury’s hiring means that current Steelers assistant coach Mike Sullivan won’t be getting that job in Sin City. Sullivan is still under contract as the Steelers’ quarterbacks coach. However, he was granted permission to interview for that vacancy in Vegas.
It’s unclear if Mike Tomlin and Smith will want to retain Sullivan in his current role. Sullivan also interviewed for the New Orleans Saints’ offensive coordinator gig. That spot remains open.
This is Kingsbury’s second NFL job. He was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-22.
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Setting the bar
Vancouver’s decision to trade for Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm may have set the bar for what Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas can expect in exchange for winger Jake Guentzel.
That’s if the Pens really do ended up trying to trade him.
Like Lindholm, Guentzel is a 29-year-old pending free agent. Lindholm makes $4.8 million. Guentzel makes $6 million. Guentzel has 463 points and 219 goals in 499 NHL games. Lindholm has 545 points and 212 goals in 792 NHL games. Guentzel has 49 points this season. Lindholm has 32. Guentzel is more of a scoring wing. Lindholm is more of a two-way center.
Keep in mind that Guentzel has a no-trade clause that restricts him from being dealt to 12 teams.
In exchange for Lindholm, the Flames got RW Andrei Kuzmenko, D Hunter Brzustewicz, D Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick (conditional).
The Daily Faceoff describes Kuzmenko (27 years old, $5.5 million cap hit through 2025) as a “cut-and-dried cap dump” that the Flames will attempt to rehab and eventually spin into better assets down the line.
Brzustewicz is a 19-year-old unsigned draft pick who leads all defensemen in the OHL in scoring (and is seventh overall in the league). Jurmo is a 21-year-old, 6-foot-5 stay-at-home defenseman who is projected as a bottom-six/organizational depth player.
I would hope that Dubas could do at least that well, if not better than that for Guentzel. Then again, I also wonder if the Canucks (with former Penguins Jim Rutherford, Patrick Allvin and Rick Tocchet in charge) may have been the team most interested in acquiring Guentzel in the first place.
Straight to the point
Thursday marked the 15th anniversary of the Steelers’ 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
Of course, that also means the anniversary of two of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history: James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the first half and Ben Roethlisberger’s game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.
In recognition of the anniversary of that play, the NFL’s X account posted highlights of that game with the question “15 years ago. Best Super Bowl of all time?”
Harrison saw the post and responded with one word: “Yes.”
— James Harrison (@jharrison9292) February 1, 2024
Having been reminded of the anniversary, I thought it would be a good time to repost the column I wrote a
It was a fun story to write. How often do you get to write about one of the zebras who got a tough call right in one of the most crucial moments in football history? Usually, we spend so much time ripping those guys when they get calls wrong.
I reached out to Gauxtreau on Thursday via text. At age 69, he’s no longer officiating and said he misses the game a lot, but he’s happy in retirement.
Well done, Greg. Well done.
Splitting it up
The Robert Morris men’s hockey team is splitting a home-and-home series this weekend with an in-state rival.
The Colonials are bussing up to Erie to play Mercyhurst on Friday evening. Then, the Lakers head down to Neville Island for the return game on Saturday night. Both games are at 7 p.m.
The two clubs played to a 3-3 tie in Erie earlier this season. The Lakers emerged with the extra point in a shootout. Mercyhurst is in ninth place in the 11-team Atlantic Hockey Association with 21 points. The Colonials are six points back, with 15 in 11th place. Army is in between with 17 points in 10th.
In its first season back from a two-year absence, RMU gained a split at AIC last weekend, winning the opener 2-0 and losing the second game 5-2.
As for the women’s team, they are in Rochester for two games this weekend against RIT. Also, in their first year back on the ice, the Colonials women’s team has 14 points in the six-team CHA (College Hockey America). That’s good for third place. The Tigers are in fifth with 10.
Faceoff in Western New York is at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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