This isn't the way Eddie Faulkner wanted to get the biggest job of his professional life. Faulkner and Matt Canada are friends. It's a bond that goes back well over a decade, a bond that hardly ended when the Pittsburgh Steelers fired Canada as their offensive coordinator on Tuesday and replaced him with Faulkner, the energetic 46-year-old running backs coach who is well aware of how the promotion could alter the trajectory of his career.
Tomlin selected Faulkner as the coordinator on an interim basis, with quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan handling the play-calling duties on Sunday when Pittsburgh (6-4) visits Cincinnati (5-5).