The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2020 season is now in the books. It ended in spectacular fashion — though the wrong kind of spectacular — in a dismal postseason defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns, sending them into an early offseason mode after going 12-4 in the regular season and winning the AFC North for the first time in three years.
Since then, they have lost several players in free agency who were key members of the offense and defense. Multiple starters retired, as well. They made few notable additions in free agency, and are banking on contributions on offense from their rookies, as well as perhaps a last ride for Ben Roethlisberger.
The only thing facing them now as they head into 2021 is more questions. Right now, they lack answers. They know that they have Roethlisberger for one more year, but was that even the right decision? How successful can Najee Harris be behind a questionable offensive line? What kind of changes can Matt Canada and Adrian Klemm bring to the offense? And how can the defense retain the status quo with the losses of Bud Dupree, Steven Nelson, and Mike Hilton?
These are the sorts of questions we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football is a year-round pastime and there are always questions to ask, though there is rarely a concrete answer. This is your venue for exploring the topics we present through all of their uncertainty.
Question: Is Kevin Colbert a Hall of Fame general manager?
As we enter the Hall of Fame week process, during which five members of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization will be honored, the question is inevitably raised: Who’s left? Who’s next? There are few teams who can even come close to rivaling Pittsburgh’s representation in Canton, but it’s always hard to get in.
Ben Roethlisberger is the only obvious candidate on the horizon. One would like to think that L.C. Greenwood will someday be enshrined, and perhaps Pro Football Reference’s recent pre-1982 sack research will be an extra arrow in the quiver of whoever states his case next.
There are other potentialities, most notably Antonio Brown and Maurkice Pouncey. One would like to think that T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick will end up there one day, as well. But what about non-players?
Setting aside Mike Tomlin, who is likely nearing a Hall of Fame resume when you compare it to Bill Cowher’s how about Kevin Colbert? How many general managers have put together multiple Super Bowl-winning teams? He’s pretty much always included in any top 10 list.
Colbert has been at it for the Steelers for over two decades. While he’s drawing things to a close, he still has time to add to his legacy, including whatever his players accomplish in the intervening years. I certainly think that, in time, his case gets discussed.
