With one week to go before the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine gets underway in Indianapolis it appears as though there won’t be any changes on the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff this offseason.
During his Tuesday online chat, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was asked if it’s safe to assume that no coaching changes will occur this offseason and he said that it was in his opinion.
At the beginning of the month, Steelers team president Art Rooney II was asked during an interview on DVE Radio about the state of the team’s coaching staff moving forward into the offseason and all he would say is that evaluations were about to take place and that a few contract negotiations had to be taken care of.
“Yeah, a couple weeks after the season, Mike [Tomlin], first he meets with all of the players and kind of has an exit interview with all of them and has a similar kind of conversation with the coaches and so he’s going through that process,” Rooney said. “We do have contract situations with coaches that we’ve got to work through, so it’s a process that is happening as we speak.”
That interview with Rooney took place three weeks ago today so one could easily surmise that all of the evaluations and contract issues have been addressed by now.
Entering the 2016 season there was some concern that wide receivers coach Richard Mann might decide to retire at the conclusion of the season due to health-related reasons but as we sit here in late February, one can easily speculate that he’ll return for at least one more season.
Additionally, while several fans of the Steelers were hoping that special teams coordinator Danny Smith wouldn’t be retained during the offseason, it appears now that he’ll be back for a fifth season.
During the upcoming combine Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert will address the media as he does every year and one can only hope he’ll be asked to confirm that there will be no changes on the coaching staff this offseason.
Steelers Coaching Staff And Year Hired
Mike Tomlin – Head Coach – (2007)
Todd Haley – Offensive Coordinator (2012)
Keith Butler – Defensive Coordinator (2003)
Danny Smith – Special Teams Coordinator (2013)
John Mitchell – Defensive Line Coach (1994)
James Daniel – Tight Ends Coach (2004)
Randy Fichtner – Quarterbacks Coach (2007)
Carnell Lake – Defensive Backs Coach (2011)
Richard Mann – Wide Receivers Coach (2013)
Mike Munchak – Offensive Line Coach (2014)
Jerry Olsavsky – Inside Linebackers Coach (2010)
Joey Porter – Outside Linebackers Coach (2014)
James Saxon – Running Backs Coach (2014)
Shaun Sarrett – Offensive Assistant (2012)
Terry Cousin – Player Engagement Coordinator (2015)
Garrett Giemont – Conditioning Coordinator (2007)
