After the Colts/Patriots game the other night, a friend suggested I write my next article on the fact that there were now two black head coaches in the Super Bowl. I swore I would not. Besides the fact that everyone else would be writing that article, I think it’s a non-story. Dungy and Smith are simply two coaches who were able to guide their teams to the big game, like Cowher and Holmgren last year.

To me the bigger story is the fact that this game would pit Dungy against his protégé. I cannot recall a Super Bowl with this type of intrigue. This is as big as Parcells vs Belichick, or Schottenheimer vs. Cowher but instead, we are bombarded with talk about two black head coaches. Even more interesting to me is the fact that both teams play the Tampa 2 defense. This is a variant of the cover 2 which has been around for years, with the twist that the deep middle is covered by a speedy linebacker, Urlacher for the Bears, and Brackett for the Colts. Basically, it’s a 4-3 defense, 4 down lineman and 3 linebackers, with the safeties playing way back off the line. The advantage of this defense is that it is very difficult to get a long gainer. It forces the offense to dink and dunk its way down the field. The Colts used this strategy to perfection in throttling the Ravens offense in the divisional game. After watching the Steelers play a base 3-4 for the past 25 years, and 3-4 defenses win 4 of the past 5 Super Bowls, I am a huge proponent of the 3-4. I’ll get into the differences in another article, but I find this the most interesting aspect of the Super Bowl.

The real racial story this week is the hiring of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. Tomlin was the defensive coordinator in Minnesota this past year. His defense was ranked 8th overall, 1st against the run, but last against the pass. To say he was a dark horse is an understatement (and also a very politically incorrect pun). After the Cowher retirement/resignation, it was almost a forgone conclusion that the next coach of the Steelers for the next ten years would either be offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, or assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

Perhaps in order to fulfill the requirement of the rule named after them, the Rooneys invited two minorities for interviews, Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, and Tomlin. After Whisenhunt took the Arizona job, everyone in Pittsburgh was waiting for the announcement of Grimm as the next head coach. Everyone, that is except the Rooneys. Apparently, Tomlin blew them away with his interview. In this case, the Rooney rule did exactly what it was intended to do; it gave an opportunity to someone who probably would not otherwise have had that opportunity, and he took advantage of it. Previous teams had found poorly hidden methods to skirt this rule, such as phone interviews, so I think it was considered as somewhat of a joke. In fact, I think before Tomlin’s hiring, it may have hurt black coaches more than helped them.

Years ago, I was speaking with a fellow neurosurgery resident about affirmative action. He was black, and graduated near the top of his class in both undergrad and medical school, yet wherever he went, he could not shake the feeling that others thought he had attained his position due to affirmative action. I fear that Tomlin will be viewed this way as well. Though the Rooneys are known for their patience, Steeler fans are not. They are used to and expect a winner. I think that many in Pittsburgh believe that Tomlin got his job due to the NFL’s version of affirmative action. He has inherited a fairly young team only a year removed from the Super Bowl, one with a franchise quarterback, a stud running back, and the best nose tackle and safety in the game.

If he does not make it back to the Super Bowl in the next two years, Steeler fans may run him out of town. I think Tomlin knows this, so even though he is from the Dungy tree and prefers the Tampa 2, he has kept the Steelers beloved defensive coordinator, Dick Lebeau, and his zone blitz schemes. I am not sure how I feel about it. 1st against the run and last against the pass does not bode well in this pass happy NFL. Cowher though was never known as a great X’s and O’s guy. He was a great communicator and motivator which is what Tomlin is billed as. Steeler nation should have nothing to fear.