The Cook & Joe Show

The Steelers continue to interview candidates to be their next head coach, but whoever is selected will need to find the team's next QB!

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey, Donny Football, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Friday, January 23rd, 2026

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey and Donny Football: Brian Baldinger said on his podcast that the Steelers are very interested in Mario Cristobal. Baldinger has told Poni and Mueller that he and Andy Weidl are friends and we wonder about the Steelers' interest in the Miami head coach. Joe thinks the Steelers are going to go with the guy who blows them away in the interviews. Donny thinks Weaver is the next betting favorite after the Rams coaches.

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey and Donny Football: Ray Fittipaldo would trade Jalen Ramsey and cut Patrick Queen. Ray doesn't think the Steelers can pay Ramsey $17 million to be a safety. Ray hasn't heard anything about Mario Cristobal and has been quiet. Ray thinks that Anthony Weaver is "a serious candidate" for the Steelers head coaching job. The most important numbers to look back on during the 2025 season.

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey and Donny Football: Donny wants Chris Shula to be the Steelers next head coach. If Shula gets the job, will Nate Scheelhaase be the offensive coordinator? Joe thinks it's very relevant that Gerry Dulac reported Scheelhaase blew the Steelers away in their meeting. Joe thinks the Penguins should absolutely be a buyer at the trade deadline. PiratesFest is severely impacted by the weather.

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey and Donny Football: Joe Starkey with a Quiz Show performance that would make Ron Cook and our dear friend Mullsy proud. Joe Starkey, Donny Football, and Austin Bechtold make their picks for which two teams will go to Super Bowl LX.

Joe Starkey, Donny Football, and Austin Bechtold make their picks for which two teams will go to Super Bowl LX.

Joe Starkey with a Quiz Show performance that would make Ron Cook and our dear friend Mullsy proud.

The Commanders have interviewed Teryl Austin to be their next DC, Arthur Smith will interview to be the Titans OC. The Bills are interviewing Philip Rivers for their head coaching job. The College Football Playoff is expected to stay at 12 teams. Joe thinks the Penguins should absolutely be a buyer at the trade deadline. PiratesFest is severely impacted by the weather.

Donny wants Chris Shula to be the Steelers next head coach. If Shula gets the job, will Nate Scheelhaase be the offensive coordinator? It could be not as likely as people think. Joe wants to go with Nate Scheelhaase. Joe thinks it's very relevant that Gerry Dulac reported Scheelhaase blew the Steelers away in their meeting. Joe thinks it might be Anthony Weaver.

The most important numbers to look back on during the 2025 season.

Ray would trade Jalen Ramsey and cut Patrick Queen. Ray doesn't think the Steelers can pay Ramsey $17 million to be a safety. The money they save on Mike Tomlin's big salary could go be spent to hire additional coaches. Ray hasn't heard anything about Mario Cristobal and has been quiet. Anthony Weaver is "a serious candidate" for the Steelers.

Joe is infatuated with the song "Dream Weaver." We get a lot of lyrics wrong. Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver is interviewing with the Steelers today. Joe thinks the Steelers are going to go with the guy who blows them away in the interviews. Donny thinks Weaver is the next betting favorite after the Rams coaches.

Brian Baldinger said on his podcast that the Steelers are very interested in Mario Cristobal. Andy Weidl and Baldinger are thought to be close and we wonder about the Steelers' interest in the Miami head coach. The Steelers top candidates aren't being hired by other teams.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Thursday, January 22nd, 2026

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: The Penguins are playing great hockey. Should the Penguins pursue Stars star forward Jason Robertson? Josh Yohe thinks the Penguins could trade for Robertson but not disrupt the rebuild. We all would absolutely bring Geno back next season and is playing great in his 20th NHL season.

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Chris Hoke would hire Chris Shula. He thinks that Shula fits the mold of what the Steelers have liked. Hokie thinks it's important to take one step back to take five steps forward. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Nate Scheelhaase blew the Steelers away in his interview. The Pirates have four prospects in the Top 40 of Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list.

Hour 3 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Joe thinks the Steelers getting the quarterback right is more important than the head coach! Steelers quarterback options next season on the current roster, trade options, free agents, and in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Hour 4 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: We make our NFL MVP, Coach of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year picks, and more. The Penguins are a great story and are more talented than we thought. Bob really likes how the Penguins are playing. Joe admits that he was wrong about Kyle Dubas.

Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. A discussion about deer. The Penguins are a great story and are more talented than we thought. Bob really likes how the Penguins are playing. Joe admits that he was wrong about Kyle Dubas! The Penguins will play Tristan Jarry. Dan Muse should be a Coach of the Year candidate. They have played great in front of Stuart Skinner.

The NFL award finalists have been named. Brian Flores got a contract extension from the Vikings, IF he doesn't get a head coaching job. That is a very strange agreement there. Who is your NFL MVP? Coach of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year.

One draft analyst for PFF has Ty Simpson ranked over Fernando Mendoza! There are a lot of questions with Ty Simpson. Do you believe in Garrett Nussmeier? Bob and Austin think Drew Allar in the third round makes sense.

Joe thinks the Steelers getting the quarterback right is more important than the head coach! We look at the current roster, free agents this offseason, and any quarterbacks to potentially trade for.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Nate Scheelhaase blew the Steelers away in his interview. The Pirates have four prospects in the Top 40 of Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list. Konnor Griffin is the No. 1 prospect in baseball. Joe and Austin would sign him today. Google Curt Cignetti, it actually says yes, he won!

Hokie would hire Chris Shula. He thinks that Shula fits the mold of what the Steelers have liked. The trend in the NFL over the years have been offensive coaches. Hokie isn't sold on Will Howard, but agrees with Ben Roethlisberger that they need to build the roster to help a quarterback. Hokie thinks it's important to take one step back to take five steps forward.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that Evgeni Malkin is willing to take a discount to come back next season. Yohe said Malkin is willing to take "considerably less." We would bring back Malkin for another year.

Stanley Cup Champion Tyler Kennedy joined the show. The Penguins are playing great hockey. Should the Penguins pursue Stars star forward Jason Robertson? Josh Yohe thinks the Penguins could trade for Robertson but not disrupt the rebuild. Tyler likes the Penguins rhythm.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Wednesday, January 21st, 2026

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Mike McCarthy is interviewing with the Steelers today. Bob thinks that Mike McCarthy's experience must be attractive to the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger thinks Mike McCarthy would be a great choice. Steelers insider Mike DeFabo of The Athletic joined the show. The most desirable and least desirable thing about Steelers coaching candidates.

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Former Steelers public relations staffer Ryan Scarpino said there's a reason the Steelers brought in Weidl. Omar Khan is more of a cap guy than full personnel decisions. Could Mike McCarthy and Nate Scheelhaase work together? Big Ben would bring back Aaron Rodgers but if not, he would start Will Howard.

Hour 3 with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Mark Kaboly: Mark reported that Andy Weidl is interviewing for the Falcons GM opening. Weidl has a big say in player personnel. Mark thinks Mike McCarthy is currently the favorite for the job!! Mark thinks Jesse Minter is out! Is Danny already influential where he will have a say in who the next head coach is?

Hour 4 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Jay Glazer doesn't think the Steelers are a great job right now. He thinks Mike Tomlin covered up a lot of things. Joe and Mark both think Glazer is speaking for Tomlin. Joe would like to see the Penguins keep Rickell and Rust. Pitt basketball might be nearing the end of the Jeff Capel era.

Joe would like to see the Penguins keep Rickell and Rust. Bob wants to see a run back to the playoffs. Pitt basketball might be nearing the end of the Jeff Capel era, they play Boston College.

Jay Glazer thinks Mike Tomlin covered up a lot of things. Joe finds it strange there wasn't a press conference with Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II. Joe and Mark both think Glazer is speaking for Tomlin. Terry Pegula fired Sean McDermott because of the Denver loss. Pegula also said it was the coach's decision to draft Keon Coleman, not GM Brandon Beane.

Danny Rooney is starting to climb the ranks in the organization. Mark has talked to Danny in passing and likes him. Is Danny already influential where he will have a say in who the next head coach is? The quarterback will depend a lot on who the next head coach will be. Mark is leaning towards McCarthy.

Mark reported that Andy Weidl is interviewing for the Falcons GM opening and is one of the first interviews he has gotten. Weidl has a big say in player personnel. Mark thinks there are more people involved than Art Rooney and Omar Khan. Mark thinks Mike McCarthy is currently the favorite for the job! Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase together would be great, but Mark doesn't know if it can actually happen.

Ben Roethlisberger would bring back Aaron Rodgers but if not, he would start Will Howard. He thinks the Steelers need a one-year veteran quarterback to help Will Howard. Ben never even mentioned Mason Rudolph! Bob is intrigued by Howard and Joe is also interested in seeing what Howard has. Bob thinks that Will Howard could be better than Fernando Mendoza.

Former Steelers staffer Ryan Scarpino said there's a reason the Steelers brought in Weidl. Omar Khan is more of a cap guy than full personnel decisions. Mark Kaboly reported that Weidl is interviewing for the Falcons GM job.

The most desirable and least desirable thing about Steelers coaching candidates. Brian Flores interviewed with the Steelers yesterday. Anthony Weaver, 45, is going to meet in person on Friday. Chris Shula is the guy that many people think is the favorite.

John Harbaugh thinks Anthony Weaver is going to be a great head coach. Bob thinks that Mike McCarthy's experience must be attractive to the Steelers. McCarthy only won one playoff game in his last seven years as a head coach. Bob thinks Mike McCarthy can provide an offensive face lift for the Steelers. Would you be ok with Mike McCarthy as the Steelers head coach?

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Tom Pelissero said that McCarthy is a "strong candidate" for the Steelers job. Omar Khan and Mike McCarthy worked together with the Saints. The Steelers haven't been in legit contention for nearly a decade. Joe fires back at someone in the YouTube chat that thinks we've been talking about Tomlin "rage bait" and has transitioned to Art Rooney "rage bait."