The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 season is over, already eliminated from the postseason after suffering a 42-21 loss at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. They just barely made the postseason with a 9-7-1 record and a little help from their friends.
This is an offseason of major change, with the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the possible retirement of general manager Kevin Colbert, and the decisions about the futures of many important players to be made, such as Joe Haden, Stephon Tuitt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and others—some already decided, some not.
Aside from exploring their options at the quarterback position, the top global priority, once again, figures to be addressing the offensive line, which they did not do quite adequately enough a year ago. Dan Moore Jr. looks like he may have a future as a full-time starter, but Kendrick Green was clearly not ready. Chukwuma Okorafor was re-signed, but Trai Turner was not. James Daniels and Mason Cole were added in free agency.
These are the sorts of topics 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. There is rarely a concrete answer, but this is your venue for exploring the topics we present through all their uncertainty.
Question: What does the promotion of Dan Colbert mean for Phil Kreidler?
The Steelers officially announced several moves in the front office yesterday, including the promotion of pro/college scout Dan Colbert to the title of Director of College Scouting. This has led many to wonder if it has not made Phil Kreidler’s job redundant.
Kreidler, who has been with the organization for more than three decades, currently wears the title of College Scouting Coordinator—which sounds awfully similar to the title now owned by the younger Colbert.
What does that mean, exactly? The Steelers just hired Sheldon White and gave him the title of Director of Pro Scouting, as their Pro Scouting Coordinator, Brandon Hunt, leaves for a job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Will the Steelers hire another Pro Scouting Coordinator—or part ways with their College Scouting Coordinator?
In other words, do they see these jobs as redundancies, or is this an indication that new general manager Omar Khan is in favor of having an expanded staff? The team has already heading an assistant general manager for the first time in franchise history.
Given how long Kreidler has been here—longer than literally everybody with any sort of power in the organization who isn’t an owner—it’s hard to see them just move in a different direction, especially given that he has a very long working experience with Khan, anyway.
