PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger is gone, off to his wife and three kids and his life's work, waiting for his gold jacket from Canton. Joe Haden, Terrell Edmunds, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ahkello Witherspoon, Trai Turner, Chuks Okorafor, Ray-Ray McCloud, James Washington and Miles Killebrew could leave as free agents. Stephon Tuitt might not be back.
Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm must be replaced. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada could be fired after just one season. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler could retire.
Kevin Colbert could call it a career after the April draft after toiling admirably for 22 years as one of the NFL's top general managers.
The Steelers are looking at an offseason of change like no other.
The one constant?
Maybe the only significant constant?
Mike Tomlin.
Everything starts with the quarterback, right?
Doesn't it always start with the quarterback?
The Steelers are going to have to worry about the most critical position in football for the first time since drafting Roethlisberger No. 11 overall in 2004. Their good fortune with him paid off with 165 regular-season wins, eight division titles, five trips to the AFC championship game and three to the Super Bowl. They won the championship after the 2005 and 2008 seasons.
Replacing Roethlisberger will be the talk between now and the start of training camp in July. Will it be Mason Rudolph? Dwayne Haskins? A veteran acquired by a trade or free agency? A drafted rookie?
Maybe you want Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson in a trade? Don't hold your breath. It is not the Steelers' way to give up multiple No. 1 draft picks. It is hard to imagine them changing now.
Or maybe you want Pitt's Kenny Pickett in the draft? You have a better chance with him than you do with Rodgers or Wilson. Wouldn't it be great fun for Pickett to continue his career in Pittsburgh?
Bet on Rudolph.
We'll have the next six months to debate it.
Every day.
Players come and go every year, but the potential loss of three secondary players — Haden, Witherspoon and Edmunds — seems problematic. You know the Steelers' history of drafting cornerbacks. It is not good.
Not having Tuitt this season was hurtful. He didn't play in a game because of a knee injury and a family tragedy involving the death of his brother in a hit-and-run car accident. His absence, combined with Tyson Alualu's ankle injury in the second game, left the defense impotent too often. All-Pro Cam Heyward largely was a one-man defensive line.
Tomlin has had to replace coaches in the past. That happens when you are the head man for 15 seasons. But he will have way more than usual to do if Canada is out and Butler retires.
Canada's status is one to watch in the next week or two. It's unfair to fire a coach — any coach — after just one season, but Canada's offense was historically bad. It didn't score a first-half touchdown in seven of the final eight games, including the 42-21 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. That was Roethlisberger's fault at times, the offensive line's fault, the receivers' fault. But Canada could and perhaps should take the fall. Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan, who was an offensive coordinator with Tampa Bay and the New York Giants, is a potential replacement.
How cool would it be to have two Mike Sullivans in prominent coaching jobs in Pittsburgh?
Tomlin could promote Teryl Austin to defensive coordinator if Butler retires. Austin was a defensive coordinator with Detroit and Cincinnati. But it's hard to say just how important that position is with the Steelers. Tomlin calls the defensive plays. Maybe it's time for Art Rooney II to sit down with Tomlin, insist on a new vision from the outside and give that man control of the defense.
It's also important that Rooney II gets it right if Colbert retires, as expected. A new man will have to be able to work productively with Tomlin, who is crafting a Hall of Fame career despite the Steelers' recent playoff failures. One of the things that made Colbert so effective was his ability to put aside his ego — not just for Tomlin, but for Bill Cowher before him. Colbert built a Super Bowl-winning team for each coach.
The Steelers have a history of hiring personnel men with Pittsburgh ties. Colbert grew up on the North Side, attended North Catholic High and Robert Morris and worked for the Pittsburgh-based BLESTO scouting service. Tom Donahoe is from Mt. Lebanon and worked for BLESTO. Dick Haley played at Pitt and for the Steelers. Going back even further — to the Super 70s — Art Rooney Jr. ran the personnel department. You can't have a Pittsburgh tie any stronger than being the son of late Steelers owner Art Rooney Sr.
We'll see what all of that means — if anything — for Steelers pro personnel coordinator Brandon Hunt and business administrator Omar Khan. Hunt has been with the team since 2010, Khan since 2001. Hunt has to be considered the in-house favorite because he has more personnel experience than business acumen.
Rooney II has plenty of work ahead.
So does Tomlin.
The Steelers' one-sided loss in Kansas City stretched their streak to five seasons without a playoff win. They are 0-4 in their past four postseason games, giving up an average of 43.25 points in each game and being outscored by an average of two touchdowns. They have just three postseason wins since they went to the Super Bowl after the 2010 season.
Did I mention Rooney II and Tomlin have plenty of work to do to make the Steelers a legitimate championship contender again?
