The Steelers have spoken to nine candidates regarding their soon-to-be open general manager position. But they won't make a hire to replace Kevin Colbert until after the draft.
Colbert, who is taking part in the interview process along with Art Rooney II, said the Steelers will conclude their first round of interviews in early March, but won't hire his eventual replacement until after the draft concludes April 30.
But the Steelers have a pretty good idea of what they're looking for in a future GM.
"Art will tell me what he thinks will be a good fit and I try to fit him with that criteria," Colbert said Monday. "The people that I recommend have that type of criteria. It’s always been a football-type of role, obviously from an evaluation standpoint, and that’s what he’s comfortable with. That’s what coach (Mike) Tomlin is comfortable with. As we go through this, certain people might have more strengths in a certain area than another, but they have to be able to display that they can do and fit that football role that Art thinks they should possess."
Tomlin has not taken part in the early interview process. That has been handled exclusively by Rooney and Colbert, who will retire from his GM role after 22 seasons with the team following the draft, when his contract expires.
The Steelers have already spoken to Tampa Bay vice president of player personnel John Spytek, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Morocco Brown and Ed Dodds of the Colts, John Wojciechowski of the Packers, JoJo Wooden of the Chargers, and Ryan Cowden of the Titans as external candidates. Internally, the team began the process in January, speaking to Omar Khan and Brandon Hunt.
Khan is the team's vice president of football and business administration, while Hunt is the team's director of pro scouting.
The Steelers have typically hired from within when it comes to coordinator positions, but when it comes to this position, the outside hires might be attractive to help the team make advancements. The Steelers went 9-7-1 last season, making the playoffs as a Wild Card, but were eliminated in the opening round.
The Steelers have just three playoff wins since the 2015 season.
"When we’re 9-7-1, we’re not good enough," Colbert said. "When we’re not winning the Super Bowl, we’re not good enough. Is that stale? I don’t know if that’s stale, but it’s not good enough."
Moving forward, the new GM will be tasked with helping turn the Steelers back into the contender the team was for much of Colbert's first decade with the team. The Steelers advanced to three Super Bowls in his first 10 seasons with the team, winning two.
But it also had a franchise quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger for six of those seasons. Roethlisberger retired at the conclusion of the 2021 season, leaving only backup Mason Rudolph as the team's lone quarterback under contract for 2022.
"With Ben’s retirement, it’s a different agenda as we enter into this offseason. We’ll continue to look at every possible option," Colbert said. "We know we have two veteran players here. Both have started NFL games. We have confidence that Mason Rudolph, if we started the season today, that’s coach Tomlin’s decision, but if we started the season today, Mason would be our starter. We’re excited to see where that can go. Mason is 5-4-1 in the NFL, albeit in a backup role. We’re excited to see what is next for Mason. If we add to that position, we’ll look at every avenue, as we do for every position. But quarterback is unique."
The Steelers also have former Washington first-round pick and starter Dwayne Haskins on the roster. Haskins will be a restricted free agent when that period opens March 16. But Colbert said the team will tender him an offer to retain his rights.
But there will be other quarterbacks added, whether through the draft or free agency. The Steelers always take at least four to training camp each year. But all four won't compete for the starting job.
"We have Dwayne and we have Mason," Colbert said. "Can we add to that group from the outside? Sure. We'll look at trades. We'll look at unrestricted groups, potential cuts down the road, and make those comparisons to what it's going to cost us either from a draft compensation or from a free agency cap availability and a decision of what that will do to your team. More would create competition, but is it going to be realistically workable? I don't think so."
The organization's decision moving forward at quarterback will obviously have a long-term effect on the team's future outlook. Colbert knows that whoever replaces him at GM will be dealing with what he's left behind.
He would like to stay on with the team in an advisory role of some type -- if that works with the new GM.
"We talked about that, because if I'm not going to be involved, I'm making decisions for the 2022 season," Colbert said. "Could that be, not detrimental, but counter-productive? It could be. But I think Art and Mike both trusted that we're going to do what's best and the three of us will come together and make the best decisions for us for 2022, whether I'm here or not. It really won't matter because we're going to do the best we can for the group right now in 2022."
