Speaker 1: All right, O, mar thanks very much for being with us.
Speaker 1: First question, Yeah, first question for you. Team starts ten
Speaker 1: and three. Obviously we saw what happened down the stretch.
Speaker 1: How do you kind of evaluate the season overall?
Speaker 2: You know, I'd say, you know, we were ten and three,
Speaker 2: we felt good about where we were, but the reality
Speaker 2: is we lost five fraight games and that's unacceptable and
Speaker 2: it's not good enough, and you know, so it's disappointing
Speaker 2: how it ended, and it can't happen again. Where you know,
Speaker 2: we have to be self aware and review everything that
Speaker 2: we've done and how we do it, and we're in
Speaker 2: the process of doing that and make sure that doesn't
Speaker 2: happen again.
Speaker 1: I think the argument can be made and has been made,
Speaker 1: that the quarterback position is the most important position in
Speaker 1: all of sports. Art Rooney said after the year, Look,
Speaker 1: you got good production from Justin Field, good production from
Speaker 1: Buston Wilson at times both of them that he wants
Speaker 1: to make a decision at the quarterback position. Where does
Speaker 1: that stand as we sit here today?
Speaker 2: Reality is right now, you know, three guys we had
Speaker 2: last year on the roster are not on the contract,
Speaker 2: So you know, our preferences to be able to have
Speaker 2: one or a combination of those guys as part of
Speaker 2: our roster in twenty twenty five. Right now, all options
Speaker 2: are on the table until that happens. But that's that's
Speaker 2: where it's handed.
Speaker 1: You've had two very well regarded drafts. How do you
Speaker 1: feel about the process leading up to the draft with
Speaker 1: you and your scouts and your team.
Speaker 2: I feel really good about a process. You know, we
Speaker 2: always do review it every year to see, hey, how
Speaker 2: can we get better? You know, what can we do
Speaker 2: differently that's gonna maybe help us out. But you know,
Speaker 2: the group that I have a great group of people
Speaker 2: that work that I work with. But yeah, overall, I
Speaker 2: feel good about the process. You know, I love being
Speaker 2: here in Indianapolis. I've been coming here since I think
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety seven, since I was when I was an
Speaker 2: intern with the Saints, and you know, I just love
Speaker 2: it. It's a great process, it's fun, and this is the
Speaker 2: opportunity for us to acquire players that are going to
Speaker 2: help us win our championship.
Speaker 1: I did want to get back to the Combines in
Speaker 1: a moment, but first, you know, looking back at last
Speaker 1: year's class, four of your seven guys basically didn't play,
Speaker 1: but they did have a chance to go through the
Speaker 1: offseason workouts, to go through some of the camp, to
Speaker 1: sit into meetings, that sort of thing. So how do
Speaker 1: you evaluate those players?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's almost like a red shirt year
Speaker 2: for those guys, right, you know, you hate that that happened,
Speaker 2: that these guys were injured because we felt like all all,
Speaker 2: all of those guys gotta helped us last year. You know,
Speaker 2: guys get hurt and unfortunately, you know that we had
Speaker 2: some draft picks, but you know, I'm glad we have
Speaker 2: them going into twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: So fans get to see the sprints and the cone
Speaker 1: drills and the workouts. Is there a single most valuable
Speaker 1: part of the combines for you and your staff?
Speaker 2: So I'll say what I get, what I enjoy the most,
Speaker 2: or I think it's it's for me, it's important. It's
Speaker 2: really the interviews, you know, the opportunity to spend time
Speaker 2: with these guys on the formal interviews at night. When
Speaker 2: we get those guys, it's so important, you know. We
Speaker 2: we take full advantage of that time getting to know
Speaker 2: the player, identifying if he's a Steeler, if he's the
Speaker 2: right type of player for us and the guy that
Speaker 2: can help us win. You know, we want guys that
Speaker 2: are that are winners and you know that love football
Speaker 2: and winning is important to them. So the interviews for
Speaker 2: me are a big part of this.
Speaker 1: What else are you and your staff trying to accomplish
Speaker 1: here in Indianapolis?
Speaker 2: You mentioned getting to know those guys, but then also
Speaker 2: you know, the field works important, so you know, you know,
Speaker 2: we'll see how many guys actually participate out there, but
Speaker 2: you know, the field work, it's it's an opportunity for
Speaker 2: us to reaffirm what the scouts saw on tape, so
Speaker 2: you know, and we have some meeting schedule here with
Speaker 2: our our the agents, some of our players, and you
Speaker 2: know there's a business to be done here too.
Speaker 1: As you look at the draft, are there strengths and
Speaker 1: weaknesses of this year's draft? And what would you classify
Speaker 1: as the strengths and weaknesses?
Speaker 2: It's a solid draft, you know, it's been well documented.
Speaker 2: The running back prospects are pretty pretty good this year.
Speaker 2: There's there's a ton of guys and that we would
Speaker 2: feel good about. And I think the d line has
Speaker 2: a good core group, the edge rushers there's a good
Speaker 2: group corps of edge rushers out there, you know. I
Speaker 2: think there's some playmakers out there, guys that get you know,
Speaker 2: you can get in the early round, not only in
Speaker 2: the early rounds, but in the later rounds. You know.
Speaker 2: I'm really excited about it, you know. And the process continues,
Speaker 2: and there's still a lot of time between now and April.
Speaker 1: So see, you have quite a bit of cap space available,
Speaker 1: and you've been aggressive in free agency since you you've
Speaker 1: been in the gentleman aged. You've gotten starters, and you've
Speaker 1: spent good money in free agency, and you've been aggressive.
Speaker 1: Do you expect that to continue this year?
Speaker 2: I'd say we will be consistent with the way things
Speaker 2: have gone in the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: So I think this is a fascinating question about team building. Right,
Speaker 1: So you have the draft, you also have free agency.
Speaker 1: So does one inform the other? I mean, can you
Speaker 1: look at free agency and say, well, we think player
Speaker 1: position X running back is great, so maybe we don't
Speaker 1: pursue that as much.
Speaker 2: In free absolutely, you know, you kind of evaluate that.
Speaker 2: But the reality is sometimes a player might at a
Speaker 2: position of need, might might still be sitting there in
Speaker 2: free agency. That might make sense for you, or something
Speaker 2: might come your way that maybe you didn't think was
Speaker 2: going to come your way at the beginning. You know,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of moving parts with this, and but
Speaker 2: you know, you look at it all. One obviously affects
Speaker 2: the other, but you have to balance how how that works.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're trying to maximize like your roster right by
Speaker 1: these two processes.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, we're always trying to add good players
Speaker 2: at every position group, so you just try to get better.
Speaker 1: So for all the fans out there, what happens now
Speaker 1: next after these combines wrap up, what is sort of
Speaker 1: the next phase for you and your staff?
Speaker 2: Sure, we head back, you know to Pittsburgh after this weekend.
Speaker 2: We go back and kind of reassess some things that
Speaker 2: we saw here, and then the guys just really start
Speaker 2: hitting the pro days. That's the next phase of this.
Speaker 2: You know, Coach and I will attend to several pro days.
Speaker 2: We're we're trying to figure out where we need to
Speaker 2: go we'll make the most sense. But scouts will all
Speaker 2: be out there. We know some of the assistant coaches,
Speaker 2: we might be strategic as to where we send them.
Speaker 2: And then you know, the guys. Come back in April.
Speaker 2: We have our next next phase of draft meetings, and
Speaker 2: then you know, the draft. Draft be here before we
Speaker 2: know it.
Speaker 1: It can't wait. Omar, thanks very much your time.
Speaker 2: I appreciate having me on. It was a pleasure.