Steelers News Before it Happens

Good morning,

Great minds think alike! Either that or Mike Tomlin has been taking suggestions from us.

Last Friday, we offered some changes the coach might make in the aftermath of his threats following their fourth loss to do so.

From that story:

--- He could start someone else at left cornerback instead of Cortez Allen, such as William Gay.

--- Vince Williams did not have a good game at inside linebacker Sunday. He can go back to Kion Wilson or . . . re-sign Stevenson Sylvester.

--- Cameron Heyward has been among their best defensive players and he’s playing part-time. He had 18 snaps Sunday compared to 38 for Ziggy Hood. Tomlin could flip-flop them, start Heyward and bring Hood into the sub packages.

Ahem, Sylvester was resigned and Hood was demoted in favor of Heyward this week. There’s also a chance that Gay will replace Allen Sunday at cornerback.

No need to thank us.

Now, onto some stuff:

--- Bill Cowher sounded like a former coach who will forever remain a former coach when I spoke to him yesterday:

“I had the best job in the NFL,’’ he said of his 15 years coaching the Steelers. “I realize that, that’s why all the talk about me coming back is just that. I had the best job in the league; I didn’t get out of it to get back in it.”

I told him that sounded like someone who has decided never to coach again.

“I would never say that. I don’t know how I’ll feel in two years. Never say ‘never’ because then you become a hypocrite. I’ve seen too many other people in my profession say ‘never’ and come back. Always keep doors open in life, that’s the important thing to do.

“I’m very happy doing what I’m doing. I work at it, I’ll get better at it, it has allowed me to do things in life I never could have have. I’m in a good place.’’

--- Cowher, by the way, says he spends 90 percent of his time now in New York City, where he bought a condo last year. He still has his house in Raleigh, where his eldest daughter, Meagan, lives with husband Kevin Westgarth, a Carolina Hurricanes player.

--- One more Cowher item. His duties in the broadcast booth Sunday for the Steelers-Jets game won’t be his first. He said he spent about five minutes calling a Hurricanes game in Raleigh last year and about 10 minutes in the booth with John McEnroe talking about U.S. Open tennis in New York.

--- And one more suggestion for the Steelers: If Ramon Foster is healthy enough to play Sunday at guard, they should start Kelvin Beachum at left tackle over Levi Brown. Beachum has earned his shot to be a regular rather than a jack of all trades. Maybe he’ll step up and handle the job and they can keep him there. Dress Brown as the backup tackle.

The Steelers did not draft Beachum to play tackle, they saw him as a guard and said so the day they picked him in the seventh round in 2012. However, he started all 52 games in his four seasons at SMU at left tackle, so he knows his way around that position a little.

--- A view of the Steelers-Jets from New York:

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2013/10/despite_steelers_being_0-4_their_defense_still_poses_challenges_for_geno_smith.html