Steelers have a plan in place to fill Darryl Drake’s role, but aren’t going to reveal it yet

The Pittsburgh Steelers organization was delivered a devastating blow this past weekend when wide receivers coach Darryl Drake suddenly passed away on Sunday morning. The organization cancelled practice Sunday and Monday, and head coach Mike Tomlin met with the media on Tuesday to recap the Week 1 preseason win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and to talk about the upcoming Week 2 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Clearly, Tomlin had to touch on the loss of Drake, and one of the questions which came up was what the organization is going to do since they don’t have a wide receivers coach at the moment.

Mike Tomlin stated they do have a plan in place to replace Drake, but at this time they aren’t willing to make those plans public.

The likely plan for the Steelers is to give the news of Drake’s passing some time to pass before announcing what those plans will be to fill out the coaching staff. When will this plan come to fruition? Or at least be made known to the public? That is a delicate situation which will be answered inside the walls of the Steelers’ organization.

Football returns to Saint Vincent College on Tuesday afternoon, whether coaches and players feel like it. The team will have open practices on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before a closed practice Friday leading up to the Chiefs game Saturday night at Heinz Field.

When asked if getting back to football will help dealing with the loss of coach Drake, Tomlin wasn’t so sure.

The Steelers will return with heavy hearts, but the hope is getting back on the field will help the entire organization begin the difficult process of healing.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes on the Steelers heading into Week 2 of the NFL preseason.