If you were the GM...

What would you do about the way this team opened the season? Do you think it's a talent issue? Is it a coaching issue?
How would you go about changing it so it doesn't happen again? I realize that New England are the defending SB Champs, and they are perennially a very good team. But still, something has to give somewhere.
And if you are doing a coaching change, who are you filing the staff with?

 

When your head coach admits that the team “was not prepared for prime time” you’ve got a problem that’s easy to identify. He just said he didn’t do his job...again. It’s time for a new leader and direction.

 

Don’t you know that our coordinators are a hot commodity across the league. We’re lucky to have them. They would be unemployed for a second (sarcasm off). Tomlin wouldn’t get a job either when they asked him who his coordinators would be. He clearly leaves everything up to them. If he had better options why aren’t they already here?

 

Don't be the villain Ray - be the antihero. Because he's the fan that the Steelers deserve but not the one it needs right now.

 

Lack of talent at skill positions for sure. James Conner middle of the road back. Ben was terrible even with a pretty clean pocket. Steelers had no clue on how to stop the patriots scheme at all either so for sure a coaching issue as well. Randy sphincter is pretty terrible for those toss plays. And 3rd and short in general. I’d move the rookie WR up to the WR2 spot. Washington at 3. Try to get a 7th rd for Moncrief and just promote a PS WR in his place. Defense I dunno they had to keep going back on the field every 2 minutes but there was a lot of blown coverages . Camp hero Kelley is not a good safety period and edmunds is young but not really looking too good either . I do know Barron looks really bad. All of that plus playing in NE is a recipe for a loss. Sphincter and Buttler need to go , they’re goofballs. Tomlin should start to be put on the hot seat if this continues anymore. The coaching in general is just soft. They don’t even coach. Keith butler looks like he has dementia. Heyward and Tuitt were against a patchwork o line and stink. These two are so overrated, they look good against bad teams that’s it. There’s a lot that I think is wrong with the team that is carrying over from last season. They’re just not that good especially after losing the best WR in the league. If I’m the GM I retire after the season

 

There's more than one common denominator.

From top to bottom:

Art II
Colbert
Tomlin
Ben

 

I would fire Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler immediately. Promote Tom Bradley to acting HC and let him run the Defense. You can't interview outside candidates now. Fichtner would be put on immediate notice that he's out too if there's another turd show like last night. Release Big Red. Promote DJ to starting WR.

 

For the offense, coming out to try to establish the run, which in theory was not a bad idea because the Patriot's secondary is solid, didn't pan out and that set the tone for a poor offensive showing.

Defensively, it's just more of the same. Lack of playmakers, talent, and poor scheming. Punishing LBs used to carry us. We don't have that anymore except for Watt who was removed by Belichick.

People often point to the lack of replacing Polamalu as the downfall of the defense, but I think a lot of people underestimated the loss of Timmons. Forget his last season with the one play where he couldn't keep up with Hill (or Hunt?) from the Chiefs on the out pattern, he was our ironman anchor for many years of great defense. Who is our ironman anchor today? Eventually Bush, but we just currently don't have it. Shazier was more of a Polamalu than an ironman anchor. Super important, but Polamalu had Farror/Foote/Timmons up front. Also, our D-line is not as potent as it should be for as much as we spend on it.

 

So one bad game after general universal praise after a very good 2018 offensive season and you would put Fitchner on notice? The playcalling was not nearly as bad as what it could have been or what we have seen at times in the past.

 

Bring back Eli Rodgers. Switzer's average depth of target is 2 yards....

 

I wish we would get Rogers back and unload Moncrief somehow. switzer moved the chains as much as anyone last night probably , his YAC leaves a lot to be desired tho

 

Not gonna happen after 1 game, not 2...Would take an epic 1-7 start or something similar imo to give Popcorn the boot...

And even then...My guess would be they do it after the season , as to not to bring embarrassment to the " Steeler Way " ( in their minds )

Hate to give them a Newsflash but the " Steeler Way " is now a joke...And has been for a while

 

Bottom line is the coaching and structure. Just think for a minute, do you think that if you moved Watt or Dupree or any of the other 1st picks to NE they would under perform? They have good athletes, they are not managed well and there is no strategy. We need to move on from the 3-4 defense and change the team dynamic. Watching Ben last night, it’s obvious we should look at starting Mason if it continues to look bad. NE is probably not stoppable this year, their defense is as good as its ever been.

 

Talent problem IMO. It is why I picked them for 6-10. As I said in another thread I was confused when I saw such good predictions for our season.

 

I haven't thought far enough ahead as to who would be the replacements but Butler and Tomlin would be gone immediately.... The defensive scheme has not changed in over a decade. We got killed in the Super Bowl vs Green Bay with the across the middle receiver and we are still getting killed by it in 2019. I'm not sure why every single team we play just doesn't do the quick slant pass the majority of the game. Tomlin is an embarrassment. Its not that hard to have your team ready to play on opening day. Lots of teams manage to get it done. Our issues start at the top and have for years. Until that changes, this will continue.

 

This is Ben's offense. Nothing is really going to change until he is either replaced or made to fall in line instead of being given everything he wants. The lack of urgency (especially to start games) displayed by the offense for years comes from Ben. Dude just wants to show up on Sundays and sling the ball around without putting in the necessary work preparing. I'm fine with firing Tomlin as it is clear he is not getting the most from his players but changing the head coach will change nothing so long as it is Ben running the offense. He was once great but those days are past and he doesn't have the skills necessary to stay at the top with diminished physical tools.

 

Well don't give up your day job, Bradley as HC , he wasn't even good as a DB coach last season.

 

Objectively, if I was the GM I would be waiting for a few weeks to see if the disaster could be mitigated.

 

I'd probably go up to the top rows of heinz field and jump out the back.

 

Fire Tomlin, offer Saban or Harbaugh 15 mill a year guarantee 10 yr deal. Let them eval this year and start fresh next year.

 

Butler should have been fired at the end of the 2017 season. It is a disgrace that he made it this far and last night was just the latest example of a badly-run defense.

Tomlin himself admitted that his team was not ready to play. How is that not his responsibility? Yes, there are talent issues as well, especially the lack of help for Smith-Schuster at receiver and the craptacular safety play, but Tomlin's teams aren't ready to play far too often. The one possible silver lining if the team does bottom out this year is that Rooney might finally realize it is time to move on from Tomlin.

 

Oh?! What I would do if I were Kevin Colbert?! Very simple for me. This is all occurring by seasons end should the team underachieve again.




Step One: Fire Keith Butler.


I am NOT going to even bother explaining why this is. Dude has got to go. Regarding a replacement for an OLB Coach, plenty of pickings


Step Two: Promote Terryl Ausitn to DC.


Given the fact that Terryl Austin is the Senior Defensive Assistant, it would make the most sense to have him take the reigns. His NFL experience still exceeds Tom Bradley's at present.


Step Three: Find another coach to pair with Tom Bradley for the secondary.


Enough of this "versatility" nonsense. Playing corner and playing safety are two different WORLDS all together. Pittsburgh has both an ILB and OLB Coach. Why not have both for the secondary.


Step Four: Find a QB Coach who also servers as an Offensive Assistant.


Time to put the heat on Randy. Considering he is apathetic overall about balance, he needs to understand that the NFL requires said term to stack wins. Put some pressure on him to properly manage the offense. Should he do the job right, guess what?! More "Chefs" to operate with in the "kitchen".


Biggest one?!


Step Five: Fire Tomlin. Enough is enough. Time for some change. Time for some discipline. Most importantly, time for some accountability.

 

I would fire Butler now and give the reins to Austin and see how he can finish the year.
Tomlin is safe until the end of the year because HC changes in season aren't the best option. Changing coordinators is tough too, but KB should be sent packing. At the end of the year, I'd probably move on unless there is an AFC championship game appearance by the Steelers.
I think RF will rebound.
I'd let the player changes marinate and re-evaluate in a couple weeks.

 

If I was the GM I would of put everyone on notice after what happened last year. The leadership failed from the top down. Instead what we got was effusive praise of the QB and put people on notice that he is above reproach. I said it then and I stand by it. They shouldn’t have given Ben a extension and used the franchise tag on him.

This team is SOFT and they have been getting softer every year. We get dominated on the DL and the front 7 as a whole. This D and it’s scheme plays on it’s heels the entire game. Can it be possible that communication is still a issue? Sad to say it is....

We lost our physicality on O as well. We can’t even line up with a Top 5 OL and pound out a yard? That’s the coaching and the QBs mindset as well. What happened to Tomlin? I thought he believed football was a game of attrition? This team has no identity and hasn’t had one for quite a while. Your supposed to get that from your HC and your franchise QB.
It doesn’t seem to me that either is willing to put in the extra work needed to be great. We’ve been overrun with complacency. The standard is the standard.....sigh