What Steelers fans learned from Mike Tomlin’s press conference

Mike Tomlin recently held his offseason press conference regarding the state of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here’s what he plans to do in 2020.

With the Steelers regular season ending on a sour note, fans have been itching to find out what Pittsburgh plans to do this offseason. On New Year’s Eve, some of those plans were revealed to us.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin recently held his first press conference of the offseason. During which times he discussed future plans he has for the organization. Here’s what we learned:

Bud Dupree will be a top priority

This didn’t need a thorough explanation from Tomlin to know that this was something that was going to be on his agenda. Bud Dupree had a phenomenal season in 2019 – finishing with 68 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, and 17 quarterback hits.

There are plenty of questions about whether or not Dupree is a ‘one-year-wonder’ of if he can maintain his current rate of production. However, it’s clear that Tomlin and the Steelers want him back in 2020.

Mason Rudolph will backup Ben Roethlisberger in 2020

Despite Mason Rudolph’s underwhelming performance that was accompanied by an 82.0 passer rating this season, Tomlin declared that he will be Ben Roethlisberger’s backup in 2020.

Rudolph disappointed enough during the regular season to turn to Devlin Hodges against the Bengals in Week 12. Still, Tomlin’s remarks about Rudolph likely mean that they may not be seeking out a number two quarterback next season.

Tomlin “wouldn’t be shocked” if there were coaching changes

While Tomlin didn’t exactly come right out and say that changes would be occurring with the coaching staff, he didn’t shut down the notion either. When asked about whether or not there would be changes to the coaching staff next season, Tomlin said he “wouldn’t be shocked.”

For those of you hoping that Randy Fichtner would be one of the first two go, don’t get your hopes up. Tomlin reiterated during his press conference that he believes Fitchner has done a “fantastic” job in 2019.

There is still much we need to learn about the upcoming season, but at least we have an idea of the direction Mike Tomlin would like to take this team in. Let’s hope the changes he makes will improve the franchise in 2020.