Changes surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers will continue, with general manager Kevin Colbert is stepping down after the 2022 NFL Draft, owner Art Rooney II said Friday.
Colbert, 65, has been general manager since 2010 and has spent 22 seasons with the organization. Pittsburgh won two Super Bowls during Colbert’s time with the Steelers and the team went 123-68-2 since he became GM.
“We have left the door open, Kevin and I, to possibly have him fill an ongoing role after the draft,” Rooney told reporters. “We will be conducting a search for a new GM starting immediately. Probably won’t make a hire until after the draft. We will be interviewing people. We’ve already interviewed two of our in-house candidates: Omar Khan and Brandon Hunt.”
Khan is Pittsburgh’s vice president of football and business administration, while Hunt is the team’s pro scouting coordinator.
Rooney said that coach Mike Tomlin’s role won’t change. The 2022 campaign will be Tomlin’s 16th at the helm.
“I don’t expect to make dramatic changes in terms of those responsibilities, coach versus GM,” Rooney said. “I think it’s worked well, and we’re not really trying to make a big change there.”
Over the next few months, Colbert will be working with Tomlin to find a new starting quarterback after the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.
In-house candidates Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins are possibilities but the Steelers will pursue finding one via trade, free agency or the draft.
“You have to take advantage of whatever opportunity you have to get the best quarterback you can find,” Rooney said. “And you don’t always have the luxury of saying, ‘I want A, B and C and go to the grocery store and order a quarterback.’ We’ll evaluate all the options we have.
“Certainly, mobile quarterbacks are the wave of the future, and having mobility at that position is something that would be desirable. The other thing that’s desirable is somebody that can read a defense and complete a pass downfield. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that you have to put together, and you don’t always get someone that meets every criteria you might want. You just have to get the best player, plug them in, put the best players around them and try to put everybody in position to be successful.”
–Field Level Media