WEBVTT - Transition in Pittsburgh; Unsolicited AFC North advice 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.960 I'm Rhet Lewis, and this is NFL Inside Report today, 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:18.319 talking to our paladin de Kinkawalla, who's got tons of 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:20.880 inside around the a f C North, including with the 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.639 Pittsburgh Steelers, where g M. Kevin Colbert just addressed the 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:28.040 media this week. We have the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:32.880 many changes coming to that Steelers organization, including coaching staff 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:35.360 shake ups. Will get into all of that, but a 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:37.120 D D. Great to have you back here with us. 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:40.519 Let's start right there with what feels like an end 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:44.199 of an era of sorts. Obviously, with Ben Roethlisberger retiring, 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:47.200 g M. Kevin Colbert will soon make his exit as 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:51.199 well following the draft. UM, what's the feeling around the 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:55.440 organization around this time of transition, if you will. I 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.040 don't know if there's a full acknowledgment that it really 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.640 is a turning of a chapter. And I think so 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:02.680 much of it Red has to do is if it 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:05.160 really is a turning of a page, because let's not 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:09.640 forget that probably the most dominant personality in that entire 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.480 organization is Mike Tomlin, and Mike Tomlin's not going anywhere. 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:16.680 And when we talk about Kevin Colbert and him being 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:20.440 the general manager. This is probably the best example in 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:23.800 the entire National Football League of a head coach and 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:27.600 a GM working in concert together. And as we head 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:29.800 into the Pro day circuit. In fact, I'll throw this 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.199 out there right now, I'm dying to be a fly 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.480 on the wall with Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colburn on 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:37.480 the Pro day circuit. And Mike Tomlin will of course 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.560 never allow it. But that's because there's nobody travels together 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.640 like the two of them. I mean, they are at 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:49.240 almost every single Pro Day with each other, and um, 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:51.240 you know, whether they're flying on a jet together or 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:53.120 driving in a car or whatever it is, however they 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:57.360 get there. They take prospects to dinner together, they have 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:01.520 dessert with Prospects together. They have PSCA parents together, like 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:04.280 they did with the Edmunds brothers when they took out 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:09.520 Germaine and Terrell Edmunds and their parents. And the two 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:13.680 of them, really, I don't want to say they see 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:15.680 eye to eye, but I don't want that to sound 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.280 negative because it's not. Either man is afraid to say 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:21.519 I view this this way, and the other one says 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.920 I view this this way. I think there's a really 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:27.200 good conversation and meeting of the minds all of that. 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.040 And so it's funny because we met with Kevin Colbert 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.560 this week, rat and we and he is a part 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.799 of the process in choosing his successor or in helping 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:40.680 our Rooney the team president owner choose his successor. And 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:43.000 I said, well, what about Mike Tomlin, Like, isn't my 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.040 Tomlin part of that? Because Mike Tomlin is so used 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:51.080 to working hand in hand with his general manager that 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:53.400 you think that it would really matter who he is 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:56.359 comfortable with and who he wants to be with. And 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:59.840 you know, you mentioned the pro day appearances, which I 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.120 feel like will be more intriguing and more talked about 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.880 in terms of their attendance at which pro days, probably 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:10.120 more so this year than ever. Now knowing we knew 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:12.600 before that the Steelers were gonna need a quarterback at 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.840 some point, it seems a little bit more desperate now 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.560 this year to find that next guy. Right, even though 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:20.920 Kevin Colbert said it his press conference, you know this 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:23.359 week that Mason Rudolph would be the starter at the 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.040 season started today, and it's nice to have that. Hey 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:31.799 do drag that one out if the season started to 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:38.160 day right, which doesn't thankfully for everyone. I think so. 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.480 Um yeah, so if the season starting today, Mason Rudolph 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:43.440 would be the starter, and that's a nice luxury for 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.280 them to have at least the only quarterback that is 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.760 currently undercomtact under contract on the right because Dwayne Haskins 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:51.880 is what in r f A or you have a 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:55.880 free agent of some sort. Um, Okay, So where do 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:58.880 you feel like the plan for a quarterback stands at 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:01.160 this point? With Pro days coming up, with the Combine 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:03.400 on the horizon next week, and a chance to really 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.160 start to get a feel for some of these players. 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:07.760 So I think the truth of the matter is is 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:13.000 that there's not necessarily a very very obvious franchise quarterback 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.280 in the draft, you know, like the way a Joe 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.200 Barrow was perhaps, um, I don't know quite frankly that 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.200 Ben Roethlisberger was an obvious this is a guy that's 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:23.400 going to lead our club for the next eighteen years, 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.480 but there was a very very strong feeling of who 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:28.680 he was and what his potential was. Is there the 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:32.039 same strong feeling for a quarterback in this draft who 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.760 could step in immediately? You know, we've heard a lot 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:40.200 about how Mike Tomlin has made eyes at Malik Willis. Well, 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:42.680 let's be honest, He's made eyes at Aaron Rodgers, and 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:45.720 he made eyes at Mason Rudolphin. Mike Common makes eyes 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:49.240 at people. So I don't know that I'm willing to 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:52.039 read into that. But for everything I've heard about the 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.520 young quarterback from Liberty is that he's still a project 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:57.640 and that while he may have a great amount of potential, 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:00.800 he's even further behind than try Lance was. And Trey 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:02.720 Lance couldn't get on the field this past year as 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:06.480 a starting quarterback. So is that necessarily a real answer? Now, 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:10.200 everybody in the city of Pittsburgh would love, love, love, 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:21.520 love for Kenny Pickett to be the answer, and for 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:25.200 Kenney Pickett and his allegedly small hands to come in 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:30.040 and rival Joe Burrow and be the savior. I don't know. 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:34.400 I mean, pitt the Steelers have about as much familiarity 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.560 with Picket as they can any player, right. I mean, 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:40.760 they play at the same stadium, they train at the 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:43.880 same building. Literally, for any of your listeners who don't 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.240 know Rhett, the Steelers and the pit Panthers share the 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.880 same exact building. There's just kind of a dividing line 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.480 in between. It's the same parking lot, it's the same building. 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.960 The practice fields are all out back, and everybody could 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.240 look out upon them, So at any point Mike Tomlin 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:01.240 could have stepped up and looked out his back window 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:06.719 and seen Kenny Pickett. I think because there has been 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.440 so much chatter about the desire for a veteran quarterback, 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:13.880 the Steelers have always had four quarterbacks going into camp. 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.760 Kevin Colbert said their expectation is to have four quarterbacks 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:20.839 going into camp. I really feel they will bring in 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:26.720 a veteran quarterback who can compete. Now, you mentioned Malik Willis, 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.680 and uh, you know, I do another podcast with my 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.800 pal Daniel Jeremiah Bucky Brooks Smooth the Sticks. Um. We 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.800 were talking on Monday, UM, and DJ made it very 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:41.200 clear Um as he pegged these Steelers to select Malik 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:43.520 Willis in his latest mock draft. He does these mock 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.160 drafts based on what he's hearing around the league, and 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:48.520 the sentiment around the league more than any other sentiment 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:52.880 around any player, is that the Steelers love Malik Willis. Well, 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:57.159 Leake Willis will step up directing traffic. Now he's gonna run. 0:06:57.880 --> 0:06:59.840 That's a long way to go. It is a bunch 0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:07.839 of where those that ten. But he also mentioned this 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:11.280 in his description of the pick. The Steelers are looking 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:17.720 to get more dynamic at quarterback, and yes, Malik Willis 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:21.320 is an athletic playmaker, and so that fits there, which 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:23.240 would be you know a little bit of a departure 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:25.520 the way that they've played quarterback in the last you know, 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:29.480 eighteen years, Right, Red, Red, I'm sorry that I'm laughing, 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.480 but did you do you remember who they trotted out 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:33.720 at quarterback a year ago? I mean, God bless Ben 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.680 Roethlisberger at thirty nine years of age. Well, that's what 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.920 I'm saying. It's a yes, getting more dynamic from that 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:45.440 more dynamic quarterback. I think that's true, but it feels 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:49.360 like a stylistic type of movement at least in the 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.520 way that we're talking about it here at this stage 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.560 on you know, February end of February. Well, you know 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.040 what to be fair, and this is another interesting point 0:07:57.200 --> 0:07:59.360 as related to Mason Rudolph and the fact that there 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:02.480 are offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who is in his second 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:04.960 year and who was not really given kind of a 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:07.520 fair assessment or should not be assessed off of last 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:11.000 year because again he was left with thirty quarterback Ben 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:13.520 Laffabooker right, who had a way of playing, a way 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:16.040 of doing business, in a way of not being able 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:19.760 to move anymore. Um, which again at thirty nine years 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:21.440 of age and all of the hits that he took. 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.840 I am not knocking him for that, but in any case, um, 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.680 Mike Tomlin has made a point of saying that he 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:32.640 is intrigued by quarterback mobility and that that is something 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.680 he is studying, going back all the way to the 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.280 bye week, I mean when the stewards were coming out 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:39.920 of the bye week and the question was how did 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:42.360 you spend your bye week? He went out of his 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:45.800 way to say that he had been studying quarterback mobility. Man, 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:51.800 quarterback mobility is value, um, not only by me but everyone. Um. 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:55.120 It's just a component of today's game and increasingly so. 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:57.080 And that that is something that he has brought up, 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.880 and the stewlers have, you know, institutionally tried to dial 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.400 back a little bit and say that mobility is not 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:07.160 necessarily Lamar Jackson mobility. Um, it may not even be 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:11.560 Joe Burrow being able to lead out of a rush 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.840 and escape from the pocket. Mobility, but just mobility a 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.240 little bit, you know, as a defensive mind. And he 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:19.040 thinks about the way that the game is changing and 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:20.679 what you need to shut down and what you need 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.320 to contain and what you need to stop. Then what 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:28.000 is the opposing offense there? And I think that he 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:31.240 believes it's a quarterback that has more athleticism, that can 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:33.800 not only move the pocket, but maybe bleed out of 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:36.040 the pocket, or maybe being eleventh guy you need to 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.640 account for, um, a guy that means that you can't 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:44.440 ever leave a gap unblocked. Like all of that. I 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.640 think that that's a piece of it. But again the 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:52.320 question is the Pittsburgh Steelers will always tell you that 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:54.760 they are competing for a Super Bowl every single year, 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.000 that they are never in rebuild mode, that they are 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:59.320 never treading water, that they are not looking for a 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:04.520 bridge anyway. But having said that, if you don't see 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:09.000 a franchise quarterback in the draft this year, and there 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:13.320 is not in Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson available to 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:16.439 you at a reasonable price, then is getting you a 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:19.120 bridge to be able to compete? Is shoring up that 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:23.840 offensive line and running the ball, playing great defense and 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.040 running the ball, the old formula of what the National 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:30.400 Football League was forever and how the Pittsburgh Steelers won 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:35.360 their Lombardi Trophies. Can that get you somewhere? Free agency 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.559 is something add that we don't typically spend a lot 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.440 of time talking about the Steelers with right. I think 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.840 what Kevin Colber mentioned it this week, they don't typically 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:46.120 have the cap room to go out and make those 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.400 types of moves, right, And he's like, well, now we 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:51.120 have all this cap room when we do with it, Um, 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:52.800 what do you what do you see on the free 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.439 agency front? Oh my god, I would love some aggression. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.960 I do love the story of that, like, oh my god, 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.800 to be I finally have money. Let's go spend it. Um, 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:05.760 I don't you know again? And this is one of 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.280 those things where Kevin Colbert said, traditionally, this is not 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:11.360 a team that is, you know, at the forefront of 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:13.520 being hyper aggressive when it comes to free agency. A 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:19.040 lot of that because is because they're institutional philosophy is 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:23.240 that they grow and develop their own But I do 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:28.120 think that when you see I think we've seen some 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:33.920 adjustments or breaks from tradition in the last few years. 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:37.800 So I remember the year before the Steelers traded a 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:41.880 number one overall pick for Minca Fitzpatrick. I was really 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.160 pressing Mike Tomlin because at the time Patrick Peterson, the 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:48.520 Steelers were desperate at corner. Patrick Peterson was supposedly getting 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.760 out of Arizona or wanted out of Arizona. And I 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.920 just remember asking Mike Tomlin, why would you not trade 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:59.040 a first round pick for a known commodity as opposed 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:01.080 to somebody that you're a son actually taking a flyer on. 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.439 You know, the first round pick is not a guaranteed deal, 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:08.520 no matter what position you're at. Actually, yes, Like I'm 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:10.640 old enough to remember when people thought t. J. Watt 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.000 was a reach in the first round. You know, like 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:17.360 there there, you never really know. And so my argreament 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:19.360 was essentially, if you've got a guy who's been in 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:20.720 the league for a year or two and you know 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:22.600 exactly how he is, and now he plays in the 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.600 NFL game, why not go get him because you know 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:27.520 exactly what you're getting out of him, and he's still 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.079 on his rookie deal. And Mike Tomlin was just adamant, No, 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.200 we want our own, we want to grow and develop 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:35.160 our own way. You know, blah blah blah, we want 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:38.440 our own And an exhibit B is that the Steelers, 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.720 just like the Packers and the Bengals, have never guaranteed 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:44.160 money beyond the first year of a deal. Well, a 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.680 deal wasn't getting done with t J. Watt without doing so. 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.520 And so after you know, weeks and weeks and weeks 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.920 of back and forth and nothing happening, and t J. 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:55.360 Watt practicing over on the side of training camp kind 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.559 of having a hold in into some sort and my 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:03.000 getting ripped every chay by a segment of Steelers fandom 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.560 because I kept saying, just because you've always done business 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:07.080 one way, it doesn't mean you have to keep doing 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.240 it that way. The Steelers did, indeed, go ahead and 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:14.720 adjust the way they create contracts, make t J's camp 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.520 a little bit happier, make themselves a little bit happier. 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:19.160 T J. Watt is here, and look at what he 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.400 rewards them with, Defensive Player of the Year. And so 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.760 I say all of that in a very long winded way, 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.000 Rhett to say that we love to say the Steelers 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.560 are slave to tradition, that the Steelers stand by their 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:34.520 traditions that the Steelers have certain bed rock principles that 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.199 they stand by, maybe more than any other organization in 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.680 the NFL. But in the last few years we have 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:44.040 indeed seen them break from some of that tradition. And 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:48.000 so if they have more salary cap room and more 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:51.240 cash than they have ever had in Kevin Colbert's tenure, 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.840 and Kevin Colbert is on his way out, why not 0:13:54.880 --> 0:14:01.880 go out with a bang spends and I love it? Um, No, 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.360 he does have hees. Can I get you to repeat 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.760 that and send that to my husband spend spend spent, Yeah, yeah, 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:09.319 I know. I'll record it for you later in a 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:13.760 separate one. Just send it off to Yeah, let's spend it. 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.240 Do whatever you want with it, Burn it if you want. 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:20.840 Sometimes it's the same spending it right. Um. And look, 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:23.000 there are some decisions to make with players that are 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.680 on their roster now, Devin Bush being one of them. Uh, 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:28.040 fifth year option is coming up here. I know they 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:30.280 talked about that a little bit too, um. And we 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.840 can get into that, you know, once those decisions become final. Um. 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.240 But yeah, decisions to make in your own house, decisions 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:38.680 to make outside with bringing people in. It's gonna be 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.760 an interesting offseason here for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and in 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.160 terms of players and I have some new faces coaching them, 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:47.840 especially on the defensive side. Get into that right after this. 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:04.800 All right back here with you on NFL Inside Report, 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:08.280 colleague d D. Kinkobala, back here with us talking Steelers 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:10.160 at a f C North. Here we'll get into some 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.880 unsolicited advice that ADD had for the a f C 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.760 North outside of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we'll do that 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.680 here just a moment. But first let's start with the 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:21.280 changes coming to the Steelers coaching staff, particularly on the 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:24.840 defensive side. Keep Butler's out as defensive coordinator. Terrell Austin 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:27.320 is in as the defensive coordinator who spent a couple 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:30.560 of years with the Detroit Lions, and her Gym Caldwell 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:34.280 spent some time with the Baltimore Ravens Uh and then 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:38.160 of course the Just recently, the Steelers make official the 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:40.800 hire of Brian Flores, as we all know, fired by 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:45.640 the Miami Dolphins, suing the National Football League and three 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:49.160 individual clubs as well on the basis of racial discrimination. 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:53.160 Yet the Steelers still wanted to bring him onto the staff, 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:58.920 and I think it's not surprising considering the Steelers commitment 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:03.600 um to minority hires and to hiring good coaches in general. 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:05.960 And I felt like that's kind of how Kevin Colburn 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.680 answered it when he was asked, um, you know what 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.360 it meant to bring Brian Flores into the organization? Add 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.000 what what insight do you have into that higher that 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:18.520 process at all? This is a no drama club. And 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:20.520 it's funny yet because I was just asking about this 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:21.920 actually the other day, and I think it was on 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:26.640 the air UM on NFL Network. And if there's one 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.360 thing about the Pittsburgh Steelers, and there's one thing about 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.520 Mike Tomlin in ten years of covering Mike Tomlin, if 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:34.240 he does not want to answer a question, he is 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:36.880 not going to answer a question. So if he does 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:41.040 not want to create a big deal about Brian Flora 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:44.400 is getting a you know, as it's been said, a 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.760 lifeline or a landing spot or any of that, then 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:49.880 it's not going to be a deal. And this is 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.120 you know, this is one of the things that you 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.840 have to love about the Pittsburgh Steelers organization that they 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:57.160 sit here and they say there's a great coach available 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:00.320 and we have a position for him, and he's mostly 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.520 overqualified for it. But he says, sure, I'll come aboard 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:06.719 and help you win. Okay, done deal, Like, why does 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:09.119 it have to be anything more than that? But again, 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.760 let's not forget that it's Art Rooney's late father, Dan Rooney, 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:17.920 who is the namesake of the Rooney role, has really 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.680 taken a hit red the last few years, and that's 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.199 simply because of what Brian Flores is saying. Right, but 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.440 I mean, all around, we're sitting here and saying does 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:30.159 this even work and does it even make sense? And 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:32.439 how much of this is since youre and genuine and 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:36.280 just kind of trying to check the boxes and cross 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:40.440 the teas and dot the eyes, and so to that sense, 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:46.879 whether it is a conscious statement or not, the Steelers 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:51.720 are indeed saying this is something that we care about. 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:55.240 We're not going to leave a great coach just hanging 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:59.200 and flying in the wind or flapping in the wind 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.560 simply because he's calling a wrong or wrong. It's not 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:07.400 for me to say whether Art Rooney went to Mike 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:11.439 Tomlin and said, hey, we should do this, whether it 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.320 was Mike Tomlin saying for the first time in fifteen years, 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:18.320 because look, let's be very honest about this. Let's be upfront. 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.280 A fact is a fact. In fifteen years, he hasn't 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.800 never had a black quarterbacks coach. He has never had 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:28.000 a black offensive coordinator. He's never had a minority offensive coordinator. 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.400 You know, he has not had a minority defensive coordinator 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.399 until again this year with the elevation of t A. 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:39.560 And so it's hard to say, oh, Mike Tomlin was 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:42.280 just kind of trying to make a grand statement or 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:46.280 or do this or do that. Um, it's hard to 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.359 say that Art Rooney forced that because he certainly wasn't 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:53.200 forcing anything like that in the last fifteen years. Look, 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:55.040 and I told the story read so I'll tell it again. 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:58.000 The first time I met Brian Flores was in two 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:01.520 thousand eighteen. It was the no, actually, I'm sorry, it 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:05.359 was two thousand nineteen. It was right after the Super 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:10.560 Bowl in Atlanta, and Brian Flores Patriots had just shut 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.560 down what was supposed to have been a high flying 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.960 Rams offense in the Super Bowl, and Flores was about 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:19.399 to be introduced, i believe, the very next day, in fact, 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:22.680 as the Miami Dolphins head coach. And I'm walking out, 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:26.000 and Steve Weisch was with me, and I see Brian Flores. 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:30.600 I see him outside and I jokingly say to him, 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:33.280 you just won the Super Bowl, you just designed the 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:36.000 defense that won the super Bowl. You're about to become 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:38.679 one of thirty two head coaches in the NFL, and 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.640 you don't rate car service, Like you're literally walking a 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:45.280 mile to your hotel with a five year old and 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:51.760 a se and what's going out here? And he just 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.440 looked around and he laughed. Me said, I'm a man 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.200 among the people, like I'm no different than anything else. 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:02.040 And I remember thinking this a dad. That to me, 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:05.159 I just thought like, Okay, this is a dude. So 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:07.520 what does Brian Flores bring to this coaching staff and 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:09.960 how can he help a player like former first rounder 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:12.520 Devin Bush, who the Steelers need to make a decision 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:15.960 on here relatively soon. You mentioned Devin Bush earlier. Devin 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.840 Bush is a young man that Kevin Colbert traded up for. 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:21.520 Kevin told Colbert had only traded up for in the 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:24.720 NFL Draft in two decades only twice before, once for 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:26.760 Troy Palamala, who is a Hall of Famer, and once 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.560 for Santonio Holmes who won in Super Bowl MVP. Yeah, 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.240 And so the third time he traded up for was 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.800 Devin Bush. And in that draft it was seen as 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:39.040 Devin White and Devon Bush where the two best linebackers available, 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:41.240 and Devin White obviously wasn't going to be available to 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:44.320 the Steelers. They moved up to ten, they took Devon Bush. 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:48.040 He got hurt last year was the first year off 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:50.119 of that a c L surgery. There's a lot of 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:52.439 talk that, you know what, it really takes a full 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:55.800 year off of that, especially at that position. But there's 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:57.679 also been a little bit of a question about Bush's 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.159 mindset and who he is and how committed he is, 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:03.960 which is kind of crazy because the young man was like, 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:06.600 coming in he was the biggest gym rat that ever existed. 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:09.600 He's the son of a former NFL player, allegedly came 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:11.960 out of the womb reading a playbook. So I think 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.159 that the Steelers moving on from Joe Schobert, who is 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:17.560 a veteran linebacker that they kind of brought in at 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:19.680 the last minute to wear the green dot where the 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:23.119 headset helmet, giving Devin Bush that back, having a coach 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.159 like Brian Flores to really push him and get the 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:27.639 most out of him. I just think that there's a 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:29.560 lot of tentacles to it. I think that t A 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:31.840 is a very open minded guy who's got a lot 0:21:31.840 --> 0:21:35.560 of strong ideas and proven ideas. I think we're in 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:38.960 flat Brian Flores is a guy who's got strong, proven ideas, 0:21:39.359 --> 0:21:41.200 and you know, it's kind of like team of rivals. 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:43.240 I don't know that Mike Tomlin's gonna listen to everybody, 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:45.119 but at least the ideas will be out there in 0:21:45.160 --> 0:21:48.680 the room. What is that thing? And I love that 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.120 sentiment from a from a head coach like Mike Tomlin. 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:54.600 It takes some comfortability in your own skin, you know, 0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:56.560