Kovacevic: It's over, really over ... and now's the right time for real change

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It was 10:18 p.m. Central time here on this Sunday that Ben Roethlisberger was seen publicly in Pittsburgh black and gold for the final time, followed by photographers off the field and out of view into the visitors' tunnel of old Arrowhead Stadium.

Not going to lie. I soaked up every step.

From his brief exchange with Patrick Mahomes to other even more brief pleasantries and right through to the end:

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Ben Roethlisberger walks toward the Arrowhead Stadium tunnel after the game Sunday night in Kansas City, Mo.

And that's what this was. It was the end.

The end of a star-crossed 2021 season for the Steelers, punctuated by this pathetic 42-21 AFC Wild Card playoff punchout by the Chiefs. 

The end of Ben's exemplary 18-year career, though that was more properly punctuated a couple weeks ago back in Pittsburgh. 

The end of one of the longest quarterback-coach connections in NFL history, later moving an emotional Ben to say, "I’ve been here a long time, and it’s been a long time. God has blessed me," and then an equally emotional Mike Tomlin to say, "It’s been an honor and a pleasure, man. I don’t have the words."

But really, it was the end of a lot more than all of that.

Ideally, anyway.

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Fire Matt Canada.

Man, that took way too long into this column to get there, huh?

But look, without pinning everything on one coordinator, this'll be my own weathervane through the winter ahead that shows me if management, meaning Art Rooney II in this singular context since he's alone in holding the authority to make such calls, is to be taken seriously anymore. Not one individual associated with the 2021 Steelers did more damage to the cause or embarrassed himself more than Canada, and it was as plain to see from the outside as it was to hear from the inside. He exhibited no creativity, no sense for the NFL game ... no clue, really.

Anyone require elaboration on this count?

OK, cool, so I can finally toss out this three-hour reel I'd been collecting of third-down passes short of the sticks.

He's got to go. If not by the time the team's charter lands back home from its overnight flight, then by lunch at the latest.

Even still, that'd be just the beginning of meaningful change. And I'm referring not necessarily to more firings but to any hiring that'll follow.

Want to know what really went awry this season?

Consider that, after this loss, one in which the offense punted on all seven possessions in the first half -- no team had achieved that in a playoff game since the Seahawks in 2010 -- and produced all of 44 net yards on 27 snaps, this was Tomlin's verbatim response when asked afterward to describe what the offensive game plan might've been here: “Game plans are irrelevant, man. We didn’t execute nearly well enough. We didn’t. I mean, it was several minutes into the third quarter, and we had two first downs. You’re just not going to keep pace with a lot of people like that, particularly an offense as explosive as the one that Kansas City has."

I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm a coach showing up for a day's work on South Water Street, I'd love to be able to reach up and smack a sign that says 'Game plans are irrelevant, man' before breaking down film.

Why does he say things like that?

Simple answer: Because he can.

I'd written ad nauseam throughout the season about how Tomlin's arrogance led to lazy, internal promotions on his staff that backfired as soon as a matter of months. That's how long Adrian Klemm lasted as the offensive line coach, shoved out the door with three weeks left in his first season. Klemm was promoted from within. So was his predecessor. Both fired in short order. If Canada's fired, he'll have lasted one lousy year. He was promoted from within. So was his predecessor. And both would've been fired in short order.

Heck, when Tomlin elevated Klemm's assistant, Chris Morgan, Tomlin was glowing about the guy before he'd guided the line through a single game, transparently setting the stage for another such scenario.

That's got to stop. All of it. And only Rooney can do that.

This seems like a ridiculous thing to have to type, but these jobs should be filled through exhaustive national searches. There are 32 franchises on this planet. It's rare air to even get interviewed for one of these openings. For Tomlin to just waltz down the hall, knock a door and anoint someone because he knows/thinks he can trust them, that's nothing less than dereliction of duty.

It's funny, but fans will routinely ride Tomlin over little stuff that doesn't matter, a time management thing here or there. But this is the real killer. This head coach is operating with, immediately under him, an incompetent offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator he doesn't trust to call defensive signals.

I mean ... how's that acceptable?

I could go on. I could get into Keith Butler, but it feels like he'll retire. I could get into Kevin Colbert, but he's always held the GM's job in a toothless capacity, and it feels like he'll retire, too.

For that matter, I could get into Tomlin, too, except that he comes with bona fide virtues when it comes to working with players and motivating the collective. His teams compete with heart, and any coach of any sport at any level will attest that's always No. 1. That's something I'd never take from him.

Also, and kind of important, he's not going anywhere. Calling for Tomlin's firing is akin to calling for the Pope to convert.

But this carte blanche he's got with his staff, this apparent acceptance of coordinators and other coaches ... sure sounds like a fine fit philosophically with game plans being 'irrelevant, man,' doesn't it?

This is five consecutive years without a playoff win, the first such slump since 1967-71, and it took no less than Chuck Noll, Mean Joe Greene and half a wing in Canton to snap out of that one. This is also three playoff victories in the past 11 years.

That relevant enough?

Fire who needs to be fired. Hire world-class people in their place. And if the man entrusted to do that firing and hiring at field level doesn't listen, then fire him, too.

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Repeating here: The players are anything but fault-free.

And replacing those who failed this season will be paramount, even while understanding that there can't be -- and shouldn't be -- what most sports followers would consider to be a true rebuild.

Why?

Because of this generational talent:

T.J. Watt's the greatest defensive player in the NFL and one of the greatest in franchise history. And that can never be wasted. I could throw in that Cam Heyward only gets better with age and excelled this season at almost the same level. And that Minkah Fitzpatrick, after a slow start, rediscovered his own extraordinary form. That's one, two, three elite or potentially elite pieces on defense.

One doesn't rebuild in that setting, no matter the ineptitude on the other side of the ball. It'd be insane.

It'd also be unnecessary. No league in North American sports allows for faster reloads than the NFL, and that goes double when that team's swimming in cap space. Which the Steelers, in an immense rarity, will have entering 2022. At least $45 million and, in all likelihood following some predictable cuts, much more.

That won't heal everything, obviously, with an offense that saw ...

... this Najee Harris 1-yard stonewall on first down, his first carry of the game, become the offense's symbolic signature play.

Or this Trai Turner block on, um, air ... become so commonplace it was fair to wonder if the offensive linemen studied film of oxygen in motion each week.

Or this Diontae Johnson drop, as pivotal a play as this game could've had, and terribly emblematic of a wide receiving corps that couldn't even create separation, much less make plays.

Or this deep attempt for Chase Claypool that originated with Ben's sagging underthrow and culminated with Claypool inexplicably falling on his face, both of which became crippling staples in their own right.

The defense needs an upgrade, but it'd be more of a tune-up by comparison. As T.J. replied without hesitation when asked what's got to happen next, "We've got to stop the run." That's easier spoken than done, but that'll involve either bringing back or moving on from Stephon Tuitt, needing a far better Devin Bush another year from knee surgery, and it'll absolutely demands another inside linebacker who can tackle.

That's not nothing, and I'm not downplaying it. But again, the comparison is ... wow.

Maybe this would be easier, so I'll just name the only two players who should enter training camp as presumed starters: Harris and Pat Freiermuth. And that's it.

As if to reinforce this, when I asked Ben if he'd seen improvement in the offense over time, he responded with, “It's hard to answer that right now. I will say that I'm really proud of the way our guys fought. We had guys, whether it was linemen, backs, receivers or tight ends, step up and literally fought to the end. Tonight, guys just never quit."

They fought. Never quit. Also weren't very good at the beginning and might actually have been worse at the end.

The quarterback issue's seismic in scope, and I won't do it approximate justice in this space, but if it's Mason Rudolph -- and to remind, he's the only one under contract -- it'll have to come with competition. Whether it's from a veteran, which is the route I believe they'll take, or from a draft pick, which I see as far less likely, there can't be any premature declarations about a starter.

The entire offensive line should be wide open. No more anointing rookies, or handing out Maurkice Pouncey's number a month after he's gone, or lifting them from preseason games after a quarter. This should always, always be seen as management's ugliest mistake entering 2021. It never needed to be this bad, we all knew it really would be this bad, and it somehow wound up even worse.

And the wide receivers ... oh, boy.

Check out Tomlin's reaction when I asked if this game might've changed if maybe his receivers would've performed better early:

Nice, huh?

Rest assured, that ire's aimed at the receivers, not me. It's rare air for Tomlin to publicly criticize a player or a positional group right after the game, and that left no doubt as to how he felt.

It's beyond commendable that JuJu Smith-Schuster came back, and James Washington showed well once the score was out of hand, but make no mistake: Johnson and Claypool both wound up on the sourest of notes, and both will enter 2022 with significant question marks.

I asked JuJu if he'd welcome yet another return:

Whatever one reads into that, he'd be of greater use than the rest.

Players are needed. In quantity and quality, particularly on offense.

____________________

In Ben's brief exchange with Mahomes, picked up by NFL Films, the latter finishes by saying to the former, "Yes, sir:"

But that, plus the routine postgame press conference plaudits from Andy Reid, were about all the respect the Chiefs showed the Steelers. Mahomes hit a tackle-eligible for a touchdown. Then Mahomes' tight end, Travis Kelce, took a turn throwing a touchdown. And after the sixth touchdown, the Arrowhead Stadium big board posted an apology on the team's behalf for running out of touchdown fireworks because the home team had been scoring too often.

There was this scene, as well: 

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The Chiefs' Tyreek Hill dances after a second-quarter touchdown Sunday night in Kansas City, Mo.

That's not even showing the cheerleader pom-poms Tyreek Hill would pull out and start shaking.

The laughs just kept coming.

This isn't to complain. The Chiefs really are that good, and the Steelers really were no match. The Chiefs really have been to the past two Super Bowls, and the Steelers really were every bit the sorry seventh seed that sneaked in that everyone everywhere had portrayed. The Chiefs really do have the sport's most dynamic youngster and a swagger to match, and the Steelers really ... yeah.

Culture doesn't precede winning. It can contribute, but it doesn't precede it in any way that'd matter.

Want to see culture?

Here's what a murder looks like on Twitter:

Fear Da Beard, indeed.

Want to hear culture?

Here's Ben nearly breaking down at the mere mention of the late Dan Rooney:

That, up there, is one of the most accomplished Pittsburgh Steelers of all-time. In that sense, he can't and won't be replaced.

But he's got to be. And a lot's got to be.

No renovation occurs without demolition. No demolition occurs without a blueprint for what's next. No blueprint occurs without ace architects. And no architects succeed without the best bricklayers.

It's Rooney's house. And it's a mess only he can address.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics

THE INJURIES, ILLNESSES

• JuJu Smith-Schuster, wide receiver, returned after having shoulder surgery Oct. 13.

• James Pierre, cornerback, is on the Reserve/COVID list.

• Buddy Johnson, linebacker, is on the Reserve/COVID list.

THE AFC NORTH

• Baltimore
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland

THE SCHEDULE

That's it for this one:

THE MULTIMEDIA

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THE CONTENT

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