With the Pittsburgh Steelers entering a much-needed bye week, head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t ruling out any changes from a personnel perspective on the field.
That said, he’s not considering making any coaching or coordinator changes.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex after practice before the Steelers are off for a few days to enjoy the bye week, Tomlin stated that he’s not ruling out a significant change on the field, but is not considering a coaching change anywhere on his staff, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
Just a few days after stating to reporters following the 35-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on the road that at 2-6 everything was under consideration, Tomlin seems to have backtracked a bit from that statement, taking any coaching or coordinator changes off the table as the Steelers enter the bye week.
That really shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point in the week from Tomlin. After the loss to the Eagles, the Steelers got in three practices Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and no coaching changes were made.
Second-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who simply hasn’t done enough to keep his job as the OC in Pittsburgh, stated to reporters Tuesday that he wasn’t told anything regarding his future in Pittsburgh and was just focusing on working everyday and getting the offense turned around.
Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan added to reporters Tuesday that, to his knowledge, there was nothing in the works as far as changes on the coaching staff, so Tomlin’s words Wednesday simply confirmed that belief amongst the Steelers’ coaching staff.
Through eight games offensively, Steelers are averaging just 15 points per game this season — last in the NFL — and have just 10 offensive touchdowns in eight games, not to mention the struggles rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett and second-year running back Najee Harris are going through.
It makes some sense to make a change. But that’s not what Tomlin and the Steelers are going to do, at least for now. That could change later in the season if the issues persist on the offensive side of the football and the players continue to be rather vocal regarding the struggles and the reasoning behind them. For now though, things will remain the same from a coaching and preparation standpoint.
It’s disappointing, but not unexpected, considering how the Steelers historically operate.
