As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers will retain their entire coaching staff for the 2017 season.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert confirmed on Wednesday at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine that no coaching staff changes have been made this offseason.
There was some concern ahead of the 2016 season that wide receivers coach Richard Mann might retire at the end of the year due to some health concerns but it now appears he’ll coach at least one more season and that’s great news.
Many fans of the Steelers, however, had been hoping that the team would move on from special teams coordinator Danny Smith but it’s now evident he will be back for the 2017 season as well.
During his talked with the media on Wednesday, Colbert talked about how having coaching staff continuity helps an organization and especially when it comes to the draft process.
“There’s no question that continuity within an organization coaching staff is vital,” Colbert said. “Because from year to year, staff to staff, you have the same criteria that you’re looking for and it predates me even with the Steelers when Coach [Bill] Cowher came in. It really was a lot of the same defenses because Coach [Dick] LeBeau transferred with him over to Coach [Mike] Tomlin.
“So when you have that consistency, it’s much easier to work together as a staff, as an organization, because you’re sharing the same goals each and every year. Your goal is to win a Super Bowl, but you’re doing it along the same paths that you’ve tried before and you’ve worked together. And so we know what’s expected at any given time.”
