Jim Fassel was probably the fan favorite to succeed Gregg Williams, though there were plenty of Charlie Weis supporters, and at least initially some Coughlin supporters. Time will tell. I think one reason Tom Donahoe passed on Charlie Weis was New England's continued progress in the playoffs that we all know ended in a Super Bowl championship. I personally think Mularkey assembled as strong a staff as any of the new coaches, and that Charlie Weis would not have been able to do as well starting after the Super Bowl simply because the available pool would have been somewhat depleted. Conventional wisdom says head coaching experience is a good thing. I agree that Jim Fassel is something of a known quantity, and it may take longer for Mularkey to get into the swing of things, but I don't attach too much significance to the Steeler's recent mediocrity as a factor in predicting Mularkey's success or failure. As I said, time will tell.