Despite a Wednesday morning report that the Detroit Lions are close to hiring away Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, that now seems very unlikely to happen as the day progresses.
Not only have the Steelers reportedly not given the Lions permission to speak to Colbert, who is under contract with the team through the 2021 NFL Draft, but Brad Holmes of the Los Angeles Rams is also now reportedly the favorite to become Detroit’s new general manager, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
With that Colbert rumor making the rounds Wednesday morning, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked during his Wednesday end-of-the-season press conference if he knows anything about the report that the Lions were close to hiring the team’s general manager away from the organization.
“I’ve worked with Kevin for 14 years, man. We have an awesome working relationship,” Tomlin said. “We communicate each and every day, multiple times a day. We’ve communicated today. I look forward to beginning this process with him. I know next to nothing about the rumors of things that you mentioned.”
Whether or not Colbert signs another one-year extension with the Steelers in the coming weeks is obviously yet to be seen. That said, it certainly does not seem very likely that Colbert will be the Lions new general manager.
For now, it sounds like it is business as usual for the Steelers this offseason and that means that Colbert will stay on and help the team prepare for the annual NFL draft just as he has done since joining the organization in 2000.
