When he wasn’t being asked about Antonio Brown yesterday — and that should have been the main topic — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had a clear theme.
While he was short on specifics, the Steelers coach made multiple references to “change,” suggesting that some turnover on his coaching staff and roster seems likely.
“Change is going to be a part of moving forward,” Tomlin said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “What those changes will be, we are in the process of gathering information and plotting out a course. We are not going to be resistant to change in any facet. . . .
“When you lack success and you fail, change is a part of it. We’ve talked about it as a staff. We’ve talked about it (with) players in exit interviews and meetings. That’s just our business. You look around our business and see and recognize and embrace that element of it.”
Last offseason, they changed offensive coordinators (with Randy Fichtner replacing Todd Haley) and three position coaches. But Tomlin said that being out of the playoffs gave them a head start on analyzing what needed to be freshened up, and taking steps to do it.
“Being in this position affords us a lot of opportunity in terms of time to assess,” Tomlin said. “Oftentimes when you go deep into the playoffs, you get into the moving train. . . . in terms of 2019, the acquisition of coaching talent, the looking at free agency and the draft and so forth.
“We are out at the first exit, and so we have additional time. We better utilize that time. We met this morning as a staff and talked openly about dwelling in being where we are, doing a really good job of being accountable and assessing what has transpired and analyzing what has transpired before we even get into the task of plotting out ’19 and the things that come with it. Not going to be bashful about that, you know?”
Considering they played last season without their franchise-tagged running back, and now have a situation to deal with with their best wide receiver, that’s a lot on Tomlin’s plate, so the time might be necessary.
