Exactly two weeks ago, John Clayton said it was “100%” that Kevin Colbert was retiring after the 2022 NFL Draft.
Today? He’s not so sure.
Jumping on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday, Clayton said reporting of Colbert’s looming retirement is incorrect.
“First off, I mean it’s been erroneously reported,” he told The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi earlier today. “I’m not saying this won’t happen, but it’s been erroneously reported that Kevin is retiring after the draft. That’s not true. He’s still he’s thinking about it, but he hasn’t decided.”
On his Fan appearance on the 12th, Clayton called it “100%” that Colbert would step down after the draft.
Here’s his full quote from the article we wrote.
“All along, Kevin’s position was he’s gonna stay as long as Ben,” Clayton told the show. “And if Ben’s retiring, which he is, then of course that means, okay, it’s time to move on and do something different. Go into retirement or whatever it’s going to be. But no, I think it’s 100% that he’s gonna retire right after the draft.”
But today, Clayton was adamant no decision has been made, scolding the “bad reporting” of the process but taking no responsibility or acknowledgement of his previous comments.
“He hasn’t decided. And if you haven’t decided then it’s like, can you read more into that? He’s still thinking about it and he’ll go through the draft process and everything else and then make a decision. So obviously, if he’s still deciding and hasn’t decided that he is retiring or not retiring, then he still could come back.”
Retiring after the draft would be an unusual move, something we’ve said since it was first speculated. It’s something most franchises do not do, turning the keys over to a new GM just weeks after free agency and the draft shaped a team’s roster. Pittsburgh’s successor would likely be internal, Brandon Hunt or Omar Khan, but it’s still a new guy in charge. Khan and Hunt have at least explored other opportunities, Khan with the Bears and Hunt with the Raiders.
It doesn’t sound like anyone knows what Colbert wants to do. Perhaps Colbert himself isn’t sure. All I can say for sure is, based on his recent track record, it’s time to stop listening to John Clayton.
