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If you follow the Pittsburgh Steelers closely, you know team president Art Rooney II meets with a select group of Pittsburgh media members after every season. It just happens the past few meetings have been after very disappointing endings.
On top of the overall vibe surrounding the team at the time of the meeting, it seems there is always drama circulating the Steelers — even after the season ended.
In 2017, there was the talk of Le’Veon Bell skipping/missing a walk through prior to the team’s playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This year it is how Antonio Brown didn’t show up leading to the team’s Week 17 game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field.
While this has dominated headlines, there are still those holding out hope for news of the Steelers parting ways with some coaches. Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler and Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith would top most fans’ lists of coaches who they feel should get the ax.
During the meeting between Rooney and the media, he stated after the team parted ways with Outside Linebackers coach Joey Porter and Running Backs coach James Saxon, the organization won’t be getting rid of any other coaches the rest of the offseason.
They will only be adding coaches from this point on.
This from DKPittsburghSports.com’s Dale Lolley:
Rooney said Steelers are done with coaching subtractions at this point. Now will be looking at additions. Said he/Mike Tomlin have talked about having somebody in booth to handle reviews/replays, but the team won't hire someone whose job is that and nothing else. #Steelers #dkps
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) January 16, 2019
Other than replacing Porter and Saxon, the team is also looking to possibly add someone in the booth to help Mike Tomlin with replay challenges — an area Tomlin has struggled mightily in the past few seasons — but it would likely be someone on the current staff, not someone whose sole job is to help with challenges/time management.
For those who are prepared to grab their pitchforks and torches and storm the team’s facility, Rooney did talk about Mike Tomlin, and the entire organization, falling short.
This from the Associated Press’ Will Graves:
More Art on coaches
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) January 16, 2019
"I have to say that when you miss the playoffs nobody gets absolved, coaches, players, scouts, front office, so I think everybody knows we need to be better, including Mike and there's no disagreements in the organization about that. We all need to do better."
While this isn’t the news many were expecting regarding the coaching futures of people like Butler and Smith, it at least closes the door, and thus ending the speculation, on the topic for the 2019 season.
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they continue to prep for the 2019 NFL Draft and free agency.