Time always flies and before you even know it the Steelers offseason is over and we are just 2 nights away from the 1st round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Coming off of defeat by the Browns in the Wild Card playoff, a lot has gone down in the Steelers organization. Many changes have occurred with contracts expiring, retirements announced, coaches let go, and of course the virus and a pandemic. More often than not, changes indeed happen when expectations are at a high and standards are met at a low. A devastating loss to an opponent just faced a week prior that knew the game-plan in and out and will play with their head coach stuck at home.
As compared to the other teams in the league, the Steelers have not needed to deal with very much drama unlike the New York Jets and the Houston Texans, whom I will mention in a bit. But alas, there have been concerns and issues that the coaching staff and the organization needed to take care of. In which they all had to make huge decisions that could make an impact before our first draft pick and first Training Camp practice later this Summer.
So after a 2-month layoff of giving my thoughts, it’s time to get back into talking about Steelers Football with the upcoming Draft and soon-to-be OTAs. Fellow writers on this site have written related articles over the offseason so far. To sum things up in one fell swoop, let me give you the 7 storylines from the beginning of the offseason that will play a factor in the months ahead.
1. The Termination of Randy Fichtner as Offensive Coordinator
Having one of the best seasons starts that the Steelers have ever had will not save your job unless it pays off by getting the steelers a seat in the playoffs. That’s what happened to former Offensive Coordinator Randy Fichtner as he was let go of his position after the playoff loss against Cleveland.
It’s hard to maintain the status quo when previous coordinators such as Mike Mularkey, Ken Wisenhunt, and the guy who recently won the Super Bowl, Bruce Arians, found success. Former OC Todd Haley wanted to change, but nothing really needed to be done. Matt Canada, the new coordinator, has been the quarterbacks’ coach for the Steelers the previous two years and does know how Ben and the others work within the game.
The coordinators in the past have chosen the plays, and what has been a problem is sticking with it without an audible or allowing the QB to call them since they break down the huddle. Now not a lot of time has been given to build communication and chemistry from the previous coordinators, so there is optimism that Canada, Coach Tomlin, and Roethlisberger will coexist since there is a relationship already intact.