Perspective is a fragile thing. Nobody can be exactly in your shoes, and even if they once were, they can never see with your eyes. Even when players retire, their perspective changes. For example, former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said yesterday on his podcast in so many words that the Steelers should pack it in if they lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
That was the epilogue to a conversation that was already about the future as he pondered what is next for the offensive coordinator position in Pittsburgh on his Footbahlin podcast. Having fired Matt Canada in-season after about two and half years on the job, the Steelers will be in the market for a new coordinator.
Through the end of the season, running backs coach Eddie Faulkner is serving as interim offensive coordinator while quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan acts as play caller during games. Three games into that pairing, it isn’t exactly looking promising.
Of course, they also haven’t had their starting quarterback for half of that time, and they did look good in the first game—except in the red zone, Pittsburgh held to just 16 points despite producing over 400 yards of offense. Still, Roethlisberger imagines the team won’t look so far next offseason to fill the post.
“Is Sully or Coach Faulkner gonna be the coordinators moving forward? I could see Coach [Mike] Tomlin doing Coach Faulk”, he said. “I think this is kind of like a trial thing. I don’t think he would give it to Sully, but I think he would give it to Faulk. I think Sully would be great”.
Tomlin gave Faulkner his first NFL job in 2019 when he hired him to be their running backs coach. He has always spoken highly of Faulkner as an up-and-coming coach, and he put his money where his mouth is after selecting him to serve in the interim role.
At the same time, he could have shown a little more faith in him by allowing him to call his own plays rather than passing that responsibility on to Sullivan. But his intentions were to find the best option for 2023, and Sullivan has coordinating experience, including calling the plays, so he leaned on his veteran quarterbacks coach.
Tomlin has only made one outside hire for an offensive or defensive coordinator post since being hired in 2007. Defensively, both Keith Butler and now Teryl Austin were in-staff promotions. Offensively, the same is true for Bruce Arians, Randy Fichtner, and Canada. The only exception is Todd Haley, who presided over the Killer Bs era, and many opt to believe that that was a move forced on him by owner Art Rooney II. Could he force an outside hire this offseason?
Of Tomlin bringing in somebody from the outside, Roethlisberger said, “It’s a possibility. I know it’s not what [Tomlin] does. He doesn’t like to go get young, good [coaches]. Byron Leftwich would be great. But I think he might try and stay with Faulk unless Mr. Rooney steps in”.
