Pittsburgh Trib debacle

This really does keep getting uglier and uglier. Mistakes happen, even big ones, but the way they are reacting to it just keeps getting worse.

 

If the Steelers president is truthful in saying that Tomlin wasn't offered the job until Sunday, then everybody was wrong. Not just the Trib.

Didn't Sportsline and ESPN say that the deal was done on Friday or Saturday? If it wasn't done until Sunday, then the earlier reports were wrong.

Those guys just happened to get away with it because the choice did end up being the guy they already said it was.

 

Except for the Post-Gazette, which ran the Rooney denial of offering the job to anyone for Sunday's papers, before saying on Sunday that the Steelers offered the job to Tomlin. That's if I recall the sequence correctly, of course.

 

what's with the bucs? why can't they get it together? how long can a franchise stay horseshit? sorry, this is off topic, but i used to be a fan, and now i can't bear to watch the train wreck every season.

 

That's not the correct translation.

The story says Judge reported Tuesday (that's yesterday) that Grimm believed he was offered the job. So the Trib isn't saying Judge fucked up. It's saying that three Steelers sources told him that Grimm believed he had, indeed, been offered the job.

 

My apologies, Daemon. I still don't like how they tried to rationalize screwing up.

 

It is strange...if they had a source (Grimm or his agent) who told them he'd been offered the job, you'd think they'd be able to cite that source after the fact as saying Grimm thought he had been offered the job, instead of having to cite Judge.

Fact of the matter is, a lot could have been avoided by tweaking the wording:

"Barring any last second dramatics, Russ Grimm will become the new head coach of the Steelers, a source said Saturday. Although a contract has not been signed, Grimm has been offered the job, and intends to accept it."

At least the paper would have covered its ass a little.

 

Excellent point. I'm surprised the paper didn't cover its ass a little and put some qualifiers in there. You get the point across but protect yourself at the same time.

 

This is just a rumor, but if true maybe it explains the screwup.

The Steelers were going to hire Grimm. It was all set. Then, at the last minute, the commissioner got ahold of Rooney and pressured him to hire a minority, Tomlin. The commissioner pointed out the irony of having the Rooney Rule named after Mr. Rooney.

 

A new commissioner -- who owes his job in some part to Rooney's support -- can exert that kind of pressure?

And why wouldn't that point have been made before the 11th hour?

 

Even though it seems strange the Steelers would negotiate money with two different agents at the same time............. It sounds like a case of Metz, the agent, counting his $$$$ before it hatched.

I can hear the conversation that must have happened-- like-- Friday: "Russ, baby, I just got off the phone with the Rooneys. We're hashing out the money now. Congratulations!"

Agents... :