By ALAN ROBINSON=
AP Sports Writer=

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Mike Tomlin, the defensive coordinator of the
Minnesota Vikings, was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers _ the first
black head coach in the team's 74-year history.

He accepted the job Sunday night and the hiring was announced
Monday, with the contract to be completed later in the day. He was
negotiating a four-year contract expected to pay him about $2.5
million a year.

Tomlin, the team's third coach in 38 years, was hired on the
same day two black coaches made the Super Bowl for the first time:
Lovie Smith in Chicago and Tony Dungy in Indianapolis. Tomlin was
once an assistant under Dungy at Tampa Bay.

Tomlin also may have benefited from the NFL's so-called Rooney
Rule. Steelers owner Dan Rooney successfully lobbied in 2002 for a
rule that requires all NFL teams to interview minority candidates
for coaching jobs.