Chris Shula felt like the kind of name the Steelers usually circle. Young. Smart. Rising fast. A defensive coach from a respected tree who had just guided a turnaround unit in Los Angeles. For a moment, it looked like Pittsburgh might finally zig instead of zag. Then Mike McCarthy got the job, and Shula’s name quietly faded from the conversation.
Here’s Why the Steelers Didn’t Interview Chris Shula
According to a report from Andrew Fillipponi, there was a pretty blunt reason for that shift. Shula reportedly did not impress in his virtual interview with the Steelers. In fact, one source told Fillipponi that Shula “bombed” the interview.
“Rams DC Chris Shula did not interview well for the Steelers HC job. In his virtual interview, per sources, in fact, one person went as far as to say he “bombed” the interview.”
Whether that wording is harsh or fair, it suggests the meeting didn’t leave Pittsburgh confident he was ready to take over a franchise that hasn’t changed head coaches in nearly two decades.
Timing didn’t help him either. Shula’s interview came just as the Rams’ postseason defense began to unravel. Los Angeles surrendered 31 points to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, a loss that ended their season and put the defense squarely in the spotlight.
When you’re interviewing for a head coaching job, optics matter. So, giving up touchdowns on four of five red-zone trips isn’t exactly a résumé booster. Sam Darnold carved up the Rams early, nearly hitting 150 passing yards before the first quarter ended. Seattle went 7-for-13 on third down, including multiple conversions on third-and-long, and the Rams struggled tackling in space all night.
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With five minutes left and the game still within reach, the defense needed one stop. It never came. To be fair, the problems weren’t all on Shula. The Rams’ secondary simply didn’t have the talent or depth to consistently hold up, and injuries forced them into uncomfortable matchups late in the season.
Alas, when you’re being evaluated for a job like Pittsburgh’s, explanations don’t always carry as much weight as results.
Zoom out to the full season, and Shula’s case actually looks stronger. In his second year as defensive coordinator, the Rams jumped from 26th to 17th in total defense and improved from 17th to 10th in scoring defense. They finished fifth in takeaways and allowed just 20.4 points per game during the regular season. According to PFSN’s NFL Defense Impact metric, the unit ranked fifth overall with a Grade: B during a 12–5 campaign.
The postseason, however, told a different story. The Rams allowed 26.3 points per game in the playoffs, including another 31-point outing against Carolina in the Wild Card round. Fair or not, that late-season regression likely reinforced doubts that surfaced during the interview process.
Steelers owner Art Rooney II later explained that Pittsburgh narrowed its in-person interviews to Brian Flores, Anthony Weaver, and Mike McCarthy before deciding McCarthy was their guy.
“We wound up bringing in three guys for in-person interviews: Brian Flores, Mike McCarthy, and Anthony Weaver. And then we sat down and talked about whether we had our man, or if we wanted to bring in more people for in-person interviews,” Art Rooney II said.
“We decided that Mike was the man for the job, and so we went ahead and offered him the job on Saturday.”
That suggests Shula never made it past the early evaluation stage.
Kevin Demoff pushed back on Fillipponi’s report, calling it untrue and criticizing the league’s interview process, which can force candidates into career-defining conversations on tight timelines before playoff games. That criticism isn’t wrong.
But even if “bombed” is an exaggeration, it’s clear Shula didn’t separate himself enough to keep momentum on his side. For Shula, this likely isn’t the end. At 39, with tangible defensive improvement on his résumé and respect around the league, his opportunity will come again.
