Fire everyone!
That’s the solution some Steelers fans offered after a season in which they went 13-3, earned the No. 2 bye in the playoffs and then were upset by Jacksonville, 45-42, at Heinz Field. That loss that kept them from their appointed round against New England in Sunday’s AFC championship.
Certainly it’s a preposterous knee-jerk reaction by some in a fan base that has become, well, spoiled. Compare that to Buffalo, where hundreds of fans greeted the Bills at the airport in 2-degree temperature early in the morning after they miraculously made the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.
But then, this is not Buffalo, is it? The Steelers have only themselves to blame for spoiling those fans with all their success through the years. They just have not achieved that ultimate success since they last won a Super Bowl nine years ago; never mind that was their sixth Lombardi, more than any other franchise until the Patriots tie them in a few weeks.
The response by Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin to the reactionary voices to fire everyone was to fire no one. Technically, Todd Haley’s contract was not renewed. The wide receivers coach retired, as planned. That was it.
There was some surprise no coaching change was forthcoming on defense, but if that were to occur, Tomlin might have to start with himself. He called many of the defensive plays from the sideline this season. He also took charge of many of the secondary meetings and those with the entire defense.
Little will differ in the lineup for the 2018 season either. There could be a few major changes, but for the most part, the players who were on the field for that playoff loss to the Jaguars will take the field for the 2018 opener.
Tomlin, Rooney and general manager Kevin Colbert do have two large decisions looming in the coming months — what to do with Le’Veon Bell and who will replace Ryan Shazier?
Bell performed as well as expected in 2017 and made All-Pro again. But he also threatened to sit out the year if they put the franchise tag on him for the second time. That tag will be 20 percent higher than last year’s $12.12 million, so make it $14.57.
It’s probably an idle threat, but the Steelers have to be reaching a point where they ask, is he worth it? He turned down their offer last year of a contract that would have paid him more than $12 million on average per year and more than $30 million in the first two. The next highest-paid backs earn $8.5 million per year. His agent wanted to take it, Bell did not.
So what’s to make anyone think they can come to terms on a multiple-year deal this time? If they can’t, using that franchise tag would stress their salary cap because it all would count against it in 2018. Over The Cap pegs their cap room at $2.7 million, pending a rise in the cap, for their top 51 contracts (the only ones who count in the offseason). That does not include Bell.
If they do reach the breaking point, they could use that $14.57 million elsewhere — or not make moves to find the room — and draft another halfback in the first or second round. If Bell leaves as a free agent, the Steelers would receive a compensatory draft pick in 2019, perhaps in the third round.
It’s possible Le’Veon Bell will not play for the Steelers in 2018.
Finding a replacement for Shazier will be equally difficult, if not more. He was a unique linebacker with Troy Polamalu-like quickness and speed who could cover sideline to sideline. You don’t find linebackers like that often. But they must fill that hole, which became such a liability after Shazier was injured Dec. 4.
They will have to fill it through the draft or find a diamond in the rough in free agency; they have no one on their roster who can adequately replace him.
If there is good news, those are the only big decisions facing the Steelers. There will be others of some consequence. For one, do they want to pay Mike Mitchell another $5 million in the final year of his contract or move on to a younger safety either in the draft or one on their roster? Cornerback Cam Sutton, for example, was considered by some teams a possible free safety in the pros when he finished his career at Tennessee.
They also will always be looking for outside linebackers — especially with the disappointing play of Bud Dupree — and cornerbacks.
They must pay kicker Chris Boswell, who will be a restricted free agent. Punter Jordan Berry also is restricted as are Eli Rogers, Roosevelt Nix and Anthony Chickillo.
But there are no starters other than Bell who can become free agents, unless you count Sean Spence. Other notables are Chris Hubbard and Arthur Moats.
In a way, the 2017 Steelers season was both disappointing and exhilarating. If you like your team to win, 48-3 every week, you were disappointed. If you like drama, it was breathtaking. All those victories on last-second field goals by Boswell might have gone the other way, but they did not.
While the Jacksonville loss is foremost in everyone’s mind, the Steelers did take on the New England Patriots toe-to-toe at home late in the season and, some might say, beat them.
Nevertheless, there is another elephant in the room that Rooney, Tomlin and Colbert must address. Are the Steelers’ disciplined enough?
Tomlin never lost the locker room, he had it under control and his players respect him. However, there were many instances in which he could have taken better control, including the fiasco for the national anthem in Chicago.
As another example, Tomlin wants players and coaches to report to the locker room two hours before kickoff for games. That was continually ignored by both players and a coach or two.
Not only did Bell arrive much later than that for the playoff game against Jacksonville (as well as one coach), he missed practically the entire Saturday walk-through the day before, showing up about five minutes before practice ended.
Tomlin’s reaction to Mitchell supposedly yelling at the Jaguars outside their locker room before the playoff game?
“That’s part of what I was talking about in today’s climate,” he replied. “That’s really kind of irrelevant to me.”
The Steelers will remain relevant as a Super Bowl contender in 2018, but they do have a few things to clean up before then.
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com or on Twitter @EdBouchette.
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First Published: January 19, 2018, 1:00 p.m.
Updated: January 21, 2018, 3:36 a.m.
