First Call: Art Rooney II comments on Bears' interest in Mike Tomlin, updates status of Steelers coordinators

Tuesday’s “First Call” has Art Rooney II’s version of events regarding the Chicago Bears’ inquiry about Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s availability.

We also have a late Pro Bowl invitation for a Steelers offensive lineman and an update on the status of both coordinators.

Plus, Robert Morris tries to play a star-crossed midweek hockey game for the third Tuesday in a row.

So much for that

Last week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter told the “Pat McAfee Show” that the Bears and at least one other team reached out to the Steelers about the potential of Mike Tomlin being available in a trade.

Schefter said the Steelers quickly shut down the inquiry. On Monday, Steelers owner Art Rooney II corroborated that version of events during a sit-down interview with KDKA-TV’s Bob Pompeani.

“It really didn’t go very far,” Rooney said of talks with the Bears. “We weren’t interested in really pursuing it, and so it was a pretty short conversation.”

How come? Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. What if the Bears were offering multiple first-round picks? Or at least one first-rounder and a package of other selections? I would’ve listened if I was on the other end of the phone.

If the conversations got to the point that Rooney even fielded an offer from the Bears, he didn’t reveal what that offer was to Pompeani.

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Both will be back

Rooney had limited details on which assistant coaches may be back on Tomlin’s staff when he met with the media Monday.

But during an interview on Steelers.com, he told play-by-play broadcaster Rob King that coordinators Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin will likely return.

“Mike certainly knows that he’s evaluating his staff and will continue to do so,” Rooney said. “But the coaching staff, I think most of it will stay in place. Our coordinators, I think, will stay in place.”

Despite the offense’s struggles, the decision to bring back Smith is no surprise, given that he was just hired last offseason.

“I look forward to having Arthur Smith for a second year and having him have more of an opportunity to kind of really put his system in place,” Rooney continued. “For the most part, I think we have the right people and the right jobs to do it.”

Rooney added that he felt that Smith may have been compromised by having to switch from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson after six weeks.

“It is hard to manage a quarterback room with quarterbacks with such different styles,” Rooney said in the Monday media gathering. “Going into next year, I’d like to see us go in with a quarterback room that, whatever it is, you have two quarterbacks who can run the same system. So, I look at that as something we can build on and that Arthur can build on in the second year.”

Austin is a bit of a different story in the sense that he has been around in this role since 2019, and his unit deteriorated mightily as the season went along, particularly against the run.

However, he is still under contract for 2025, and the Steelers’ front office is reluctant to fire coaches with time left on their contracts.

I see you, Seumalo

Steelers guard Isaac Seumalo is heading to the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando this weekend. His representation, Excel Football, made that announcement on social media Monday night.

Pro Bowl debut! ???? #exceling pic.twitter.com/DJb9YKZoeb

— excel football (@excelfootball) January 27, 2025

It’s unclear who Seumalo is replacing on the roster. Kansas City’s two guards — Joe Thuney and Trey Smith — were named to the team but now can’t participate because they are going to the Super Bowl. So, it’s likely one of them.

This is Seumalo’s first Pro Bowl nod. He missed the first four games of the season with a pectoral injury. Pro Football Focus graded him as the NFL’s 26th-best guard in the regular season.

The former Philadelphia Eagle is 31 years old. He’s entering the final year of his three-year deal in Pittsburgh.

Seumalo will join fellow Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward, Chris Boswell and Miles Killebrew. T.J. Watt was named to the team but pulled out because of injury.

Third time’s a charm?

Robert Morris and Canisius are going to try for a third time to play their ill-fated Tuesday night hockey game this evening on Neville Island.

The clubs first attempted to play the game Jan. 14, but the Golden Griffins’ bus got stuck behind an accident. Then, they hit a snow band near Erie and had to turn around.

The game was rescheduled for Jan. 21, but that time, Canisius couldn’t even get off campus. The snow was so bad near Buffalo that day the bus driver couldn’t get to the bus from his home in his own car.

If the game is finally played this time at Clearview Arena, the Colonials are hungry for a win. They are 1-6-1 in January. The Golden Griffins have dropped 3 of 4 after splitting a series against American International College last weekend.

Canisius is sixth in Atlantic Hockey with 26 points. RMU is eighth with 22 points. The Colonials swept a weekend series between the teams in Buffalo last month. They won the first game 5-2 and the second game 3-1.