4 reasons the Steelers are already winning the offseason

Retention of coordinators

This was easily the biggest win of the offseason so far, as the Steelers were able to keep the core of their staff that they wanted for 2021. There were three names in particular that could have, and arguably should have, garnered some interest in the coaching market. Ike Hilliard, Teryl Austin, and Karl Dunbar have helped transform their position groups, and there was a real fear that some of them would move on for greener pastures.

Hilliard and Austin both interviewed for coordinator positions, and while both are qualified, they weren’t the eventual picks. That means they will return to the Steelers for at least one more season, meaning those position groups should continue to excel. As for Dunbar, he didn’t receive any sort of defensive coordinator interviews. This is a huge plus for the team, as Dunbar’s units have excelled and have been arguably the best unit in the league. The team needs to be considering him for the defensive coordinator position now that Keith Butler is on a year to year basis.

The fact that the team kept all three of these positional coaches for at least another year is huge. Each group should see at least one rookie added to their group, meaning they will get at least one season of experience with these excellent coaches guiding them. This is easily the team’s biggest win so far this offseason, as having the coaching staff stripped to go along with a roster that will likely also suffer would have been too hard to overcome.

While this offseason will certainly be a tough one to navigate for the Steelers, they are starting it off on the right foot. From bringing in Haskins to retaining their three best coordinators is huge for this team. While it will likely get worse from here, the Steelers are clearly doing what they can to have as successful of an offseason in 2021 as they can.