If history is any indication, the Pittsburgh Steelers will promote from within when they hire a permanent offensive coordinator in the offseason.

Until then, the interim duo of Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan will have seven games with which to prove their candidacy.

Faulkner has the official title of offensive coordinator in the wake of Matt Canada’s firing Tuesday. Sullivan, a former offensive coordinator with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will call the plays on game day.

But given the way the offense performed in 44 games under Canada — it averaged fewer than 18 points a game in his tenure — it might be wise for team president Art Rooney II and coach Mike Tomlin to look outside the walls of 3200 South Water Street.

The last time the Steelers made an outside hire for the offensive coordinator role was Todd Haley in 2012. He came aboard after his predecessor Bruce Arians “retired” only to resurface in Indianapolis later that offseason on his way to a nine-year run as a head coach or interim head coach.

Arians didn’t have his contract renewed because ownership didn’t like all the hits that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger absorbed. That led to the Steelers bringing in Haley, son of the organization’s long-time player personnel director, Dick Haley.

The hire didn’t result in a Super Bowl appearance for the Steelers, but Haley did preside over the last Steelers team to win a playoff game. Haley wasn’t retained after the 2017 season when the Steelers were upset by Jacksonville in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Still, Haley lasted six years, the longest run for a Steelers offensive coordinator since Tom Moore in the 1980s.

One would have to go all the way back to Kevin Gilbride’s hiring in 1999 to find the previous time the Steelers went outside the organization to get their man. Gilbride was coming off a stint at San Diego Chargers head coach when he was hired.

Otherwise, the Steelers have promoted from within, counting Mike Mularkey, Ken Whisenhunt, Arians, Randy Fichtner and Canada.

If Rooney II and Tomlin decide to wipe the slate clean and hire from outside, here are some potential candidates:

Ken Dorsey

Age: 42

Resume: Dorsey was employed by the Buffalo Bills until his abrupt firing a few weeks ago because of the offense’s surprising step backward under franchise quarterback Josh Allen.

Dorsey was hired as quarterbacks coach in 2019 and was elevated to passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2021. He took over as offensive coordinator the next year when his predecessor Brian Daboll was hired as Giants coach.

In the Bills’ lone full season under Dorsey, they finished second in the NFL in total yards and points. He was fired when the offense regressed during a 5-5 start.

Byron Leftwich

Age: 43

Resume: Leftwich would qualify as an outside candidate even though he has ties to the organization when he was Ben Roethlisberger’s backup in 2008 and again from 2010-12.

Arians helped Leftwich get his coaching career started when he hired him in 2017 to coach the Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks. He served as interim offensive coordinator in 2018 and was hired again by Arians in Tampa Bay in 2019.

Benefiting from Tom Brady’s arrival, Leftwich was the OC when the Bucs won the Super Bowl after the 2020 season. He remained on staff after Arians retired but was fired in January and is not on an NFL staff.

Josh McDaniels

Age: 47

Resume: A Bill Belichick disciple, McDaniels has been a part of coaching staffs that earned six Super Bowl rings in New England. He had two stints with New England and a season with the St. Louis Rams as offensive coordinator.

McDaniels, though, never has found the same success as a head coach. He wore out his welcome in Denver after two seasons, and he was fired in Las Vegas after eight games this season, just his second in the desert.

A drawback for McDaniels is the belief that his success was tied to working with Brady, given that his success has waned without him.

Ronald Curry

Age: 44

Resume: Curry is the New Orleans Saints passing game coordinator and has a loose connection to Tomlin. Like Tomlin, Curry is a native of the Tidewater, Va. area, growing up in Hampton. He was a star two-sport athlete in high school and is considered one of Virginia’s greatest high school athletes.

Curry has worked his way up the coaching ranks since joining the San Francisco 49ers as an offensive assistant in 2014. He was given his first position to coach in 2018 when Sean Payton promoted him to be the Saints wide receiver coach. Curry was named quarterbacks coach in 2021. A year later, he was promoted to passing game coordinator.

Klint Kubiak

Age: 36

Resume: The passing game coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, Kubiak is son of former NFL head coach Gary Kubiak.

Klint Kubiak worked with his father in Denver and Minnesota. After serving as Vikings quarterbacks coach for two seasons, he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021, taking over following his father’s retirement.

Kubiak returned to Denver the next season as passing games coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He took over playcalling duties last November, then joined the 49ers this season. Working with former seventh-rounder Brock Purdy, Kubiak and the 49ers have the No. 8 ranked passing offense and are No. 3 in total offense and points scored.

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