Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over

Carnell Lake Jersey , but if you think the news surrounding the black-and-gold is over — think again. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at how the AFC North representative, for the second straight year, was a one-and-done in the postseason. Last year it was the Steelers losing to the Jaguars in the Divisional round, and it wasn’t since Pittsburgh’s 2016 run when a team from the division actually won a playoff game.Let’s get to the news:Magic runs out for Ravens’ top defense, Lamar Jackson in playoffsBy: Jamison Hensley, ESPNThe Baltimore Ravens ended the season a with a 23-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild-card game on Sunday. Here’s a recap of the season and what’s next:Season grade: Above average. A poor showing in the playoffs aside, the Ravens believe they’ve found their next franchise quarterback in Lamar Jackson, and they finished with the No. 1 defense for only the second time in team history. Baltimore had one of the more impressive turnarounds of the season Jerome Bettis Jersey , going from 4-5 at the bye to AFC North champion. The season ended with a disappointing home playoff loss, but the Ravens have to be excited about their foundation going forward with the combination of Jackson and coach John Harbaugh.Season in review: In winning their first division title since 2012, the Ravens also ended a three-year playoff drought. The season looked like it was spiraling downward when the Ravens reached the bye on a three-game losing streak and starting quarterback Joe Flacco was sidelined with a hip injury. But Jackson sparked an unexpected turnaround, turning a pass-oriented offense to a run-dominated one. The rookie first-round pick went 6-1 in the regular season, the second-best seven-game start since the 1970 merger (Ben Roethlisberger was 7-0 in 2004). He led all NFL quarterbacks with 695 yards rushing and did enough in the passing game to lead the Ravens to their first double-digit win season since 2014. The Chargers solved Jackson for three quarters Sunday in their second meeting of the season, playing most of the game with seven defensive backs and containing the run. Defensively, this will likely rank as the Ravens’ best group behind the ones in 2000 and 2006. Baltimore finished the regular season ranked in the top five in fewest total yards, rushing yards, passing yards and points allowed.Ryan Shazier and his fiancee have a new baby boyBy: Chris Pastrick, Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewSteeler Nation sure could use some good news.How about this: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and all-around man of steel Ryan Shazier and his fiancee, Michelle Rodriguez, are the proud parents of a new baby boy: Lyon Carter Shazier.Shazier announced the birth — which happened just after midnight Sunday morning — on his Instagram account.VIDEO: Chris Mortenson and Adam Schefter on why Antonio Brown will likely be tradedClick link above in headline...The Steelers didn’t hire Mike Tomlin because of the Rooney Rule The Rooney Rule was named after Dan Rooney, the late and legendary owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.The rule was enacted in 2003 and designed to bring awareness to qualified minority candidates for NFL head coaching vacancies by requiring that all teams interview at least one minority during its search.However Merril Hoge Jersey , the rule does not state that a team must hire a minority to be its head coach. I feel it important to make that distinction in this article because ever since the Steelers, the team with the owner that helped pioneer head coaching opportunities for minority candidates, hired Mike Tomlin to be their head coach in January of 2007, it has been assumed that race was the only reason the former Vikings’ defensive coordinator got such a prestigious job. When the Steelers went searching for qualified candidates following Bill Cowher’s resignation, Ron Rivera, the Chargers’ linebackers coach, and Tomlin were two minority candidates that were brought to the Rooneys’ attention because of the aforementioned rule. However, after interviewing Rivera, that pretty much satisfied the obligation for the new rule. Yet, the Steelers went ahead and interviewed Tomlin, anyway, a man who, as Mr. Rooney put it in his book Franco Harris Jersey , Dan Rooney: My 75 Years With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL, “blew our doors off.”Here was a young man that came out of nowhere and was suddenly one of the top candidates to be the Steelers’ third head coach since 1969. You might say Tomlin benefited from the rule by having his talents brought to light, but that was the whole point. What the Rooney Rule did for minority coaching candidates was similar to what the late and legendary Bill Nunn did by scouting the mostly neglected small, black colleges in the late-60’s and early-70’s: it expanded the talent pool. Would Tomlin have been a serious candidate for the Steelers’ head coaching position without the Rooney Rule? It’s impossible to say, but the rule certainly put Tomlin on the Rooneys’ radar, and in that regard, it worked perfectly. In addition to Tomlin, Ken Whisenhunt, the Steelers’ offensive coordinator at the time, was also a candidate for Pittsburgh’s coaching vacancy, as was Russ Grimm, the team’s offensive line coach.After Whisenhunt decided to take the Cardinals’ offer to be their new head coach rather than wait for the Steelers to complete their search, it came down to Grimm and Tomlin.Grimm erroneously thought he would officially be offered the position Donnie Shell Jersey , before the Steelers finally decided on Tomlin. Would Grimm have been a better choice? Given the fact that he’s bounced around the NFL as an offensive line coach since ‘07 and has never again been a serious head coaching candidate, the odds aren’t great. As for Whisenhunt, he coached six seasons in Arizona and faced the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII, where he came up just short of beating his former employer. In-between stints as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator (2013; 2016-present), Whisenhunt was the Titans’ head coach in 2014 and 2015. You can say what you want about Tomlin’s current performance as the Steelers’ head coach (and it certainly does warrant great criticism). You can also come up with a few good reasons why Tomlin could and should be relieved of his duties. But based on Tomlin’s overall record, it’s safe to say Pittsburgh made the right choice 11 years ago. The late Mr. Rooney, the man largely responsible for the Steelers’ rise from football irrelevance to football royalty, knew what he was doing when he hired Chuck Noll in 1969. Mr. Rooney also got it right when he found Noll’s replacement in 1992. To continue to say Mike Tomlin only has a head coaching job because he’s black is not only an insult to him and minorities in general, it’s an insult to Dan Rooney, a man who spent his entire life making intelligent and sound decisions for the Pittsburgh Steelers.