Steelers Town Hall
I host a Steelers Town Hall every Monday evening at 8:30 Pittsburgh time with other Steelers Depot readers. We discussed a variety of Steelers related topics. This week, James King posed an overarching question on whether the Steelers are doing enough to be competitive for a Lombardi Trophy. Or was the team going through the motions and headed toward another season of mediocrity?
Here is a link to the replay of the latest Steelers Town Hall on Clubhouse.
The Quarterback Situation
Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation elicited almost as many opinions as the many options posed by various pundits. But they broadly fell into one of two groups. Those who believe Kenny Pickett will be given another year to demonstrate he can be a long-term solution behind the center. And those that are ready to move on.
The latter group favored Pittsburgh trading for Justin Fields or acquiring Russel Wilson. Another possibility included drafting a quarterback like Michael Penix, who might be available in the second round. The Kenny Pickett faction anticipates Mason Rudolph re-signing with the Steelers as a backup. Or, if he leaves during free agency, sign a veteran quarterback such as Ryan Tannehill, who would be familiar with Arthur Smith’s offensive scheme and is affordable and willing to assist in Pickett’s development.
Mark Bergin outlined the pros and cons of Pittsburgh sticking with Kenny Pickett. He remains in his rookie contract. And will have a new offensive scheme to demonstrate his aptitude. Conversely, he has an injury history and has underperformed when given the opportunity.
Frankly, as an average Steelers fan, I will support whatever quarterback lines up behind center for the Steelers. Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin indicated Kenny Pickett would be given an opportunity to quarterback the team, albeit with competition. Both indicated the desire to re-sign Mason Rudolph. But if I were Mason’s agent, my advice would be to wait until the “legal” tampering period begins on March 11 to see what other teams are willing to offer before accepting any offer from Pittsburgh. The outcome of the negotiations between Pittsburgh and Rudolph will determine what additional quarterbacks the Steelers will seek to sign or even draft.
Bolstering Other Positions
We then discussed bolstering other positions. Many of the Town Hall participants believe the Steelers must strengthen the current roster before investing in a new quarterback for the future. Almost everyone agreed that a new center is a very high priority. A few expressed surprise that Pittsburgh released Mason Cole. But only because they viewed him as depth for the interior of the offensive line. His inconsistent snapping and poor blocking forced change. The consensus was for Pittsburgh to draft the next center from a deep class.
Offensive tackle is another position that the group says needs attention. Then there was a discussion of whether to trade Diontae Johnson now since the team would not be able to sustain big contracts for both Johnson and George Pickens in the future. Frankly, I did not understand the desire to cut ties with Diontae now. He gives the Steelers a better chance to win in 2024 than a future draft pick. Also, he has an incentive for a big year to enhance his market value in the 2025 free agency market. At which point, it may be logical for Diontae to graze in greener pastures.
On the defensive side of the ball, the need for inside linebackers, secondary help, and getting younger on the defensive line was discussed. The consensus was seeing how Kwon Alexander and Cole Holcomb recover from injuries and possibly signing free agent help. Patrick Peterson was not viewed as a viable option at cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr. We didn’t address Peterson’s potential move to safety. But the idea of Terrell Edmunds returning did come up. It came down to whether the price was right. Scratch, a rabid Georgia fan, strongly endorsed building up the defense line. He likes defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat from Texas and Michael Hall from Ohio State. But he doesn’t think Sweat will be available when Pittsburgh’s selection comes up. Some folks pushed back on Hall’s size. He weighs just 285. But Scratch compared him to Tampa Bay’s defensive rookie of the year candidate Calijah Kancey, who weighed in at 281.
Coaching Staff Size
We talked briefly about the size of the coaching staff. Overall, the group is happy with the new hires on the offensive coaching staff. Currently, coordinator Teryl Austin has just four position coaches and a quality control coach with no assistants. We will likely see the Steelers hire a few between now and training camp. But it did lead to a discussion on what drives the small size of the Steelers coaching staff. One view is that Art Rooney II is cheap and won’t pay for quality coaches.
My viewpoint is that prior history points to Mike Tomlin and perhaps the coordinators preferring the number of coaches hired. For example, when Brian Flores was radioactive following filing his lawsuit against the NFL, Mike Tomlin went to Art Rooney II, who agreed to hire Flores as a Senior Defensive Assistant and linebackers coach. At the time, Karl Dunbar helped coach the outside linebackers and Jerry Olsavsky was the inside linebackers coach. This year, the Steelers hired a new quarterback coach. Mike Sullivan interviewed for a couple of offensive coordinator positions but was not hired. The Steelers retained him as a senior offensive assistant coach.
Next Week
Mark Bergin, who hosts a podcast with former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, will be attending the NFL Combine. He will be joining Ike and may get a chance to get together with the Steelers Depot staff attending: Ross McCorkle, Jonathan Heitritter, and Joe Clark.
By Monday evening, we should have even more Steelers Depot draft profiles, Omar Khan’s interview, and other Steelers news to discuss. Many thanks to my co-host, Ken Sterner, who does an excellent job facilitating our conversations.
Your Song Selection
I always like to include some music. Always enjoy talking Steelers and listening to some different music. Here is Chicken Shack performed by Pinetop Perkins.
