The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the offseason, following a year in which they had high hopes for Super Bowl success, but ultimately fell short of even reaching the postseason at 8-8. It was a tumultuous season, both on the field and within the roster, and the months to follow figure to have some drama as well, especially in light of the team’s failure to improve upon the year before.
The team made some bold moves over the course of the past year, and some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago, or even at the start of the regular season. Whether due to injuries or otherwise, a lot has transpired, and we’re left to wonder how much more will change prior to September.
How will Ben Roethlisberger’s rehab progress as he winds toward recovery from an elbow injury that cost him almost the entire season? What about some of the key young players, some of whom have already impressed, others still needing quite a bit of growth? Will there be changes to the coaching staff? The front office? Who will they not retain in free agency, and whom might they bring in?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: Will Donnie Shell join Bill Cowher as part of the Centennial Slate of the 2020 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
It’s not entirely clear why, outside of it simply being a good moment, but they decided to reveal last night prior to the Baltimore Ravens’ game against the Tennessee Titans that former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher would be one of three coaches selected as part of the ‘Centennial Slate’ wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2020.
In breaking with procedure, the Hall this year elected to forego the usual non-modern candidate procedure, electing to instead vote in a 15-member ‘Centennial Slate’ made up of 10 senior committee players, three coaches, and two contributors.
Among the 20 finalists for the player portion is former Steelers safety Donnie Shell, who, at least in my estimation, would seem to have a very good chance of getting in, relative to the names of the other finalists on the list.
We already know that at least one Steeler will be in Canton this year, that being Cowher. Shell could be another. And of course, both Troy Polamalu and Alan Faneca are among the 15 finalists for enshrinement among the modern candidates. Sure would be nice to have a healthy dose of yinzer during this year’s Canton celebrations.
The full Centennial Slate of 15 members is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday. It was voted on by a specially-assembled panel last week, in Canton.
