PITTSBURGH — Steelers president Art Rooney II said general manager Kevin Colbert, who has been with the franchise since 2000 and helped build the foundation for two Super Bowl titles, will step down after the 2022 draft.
Rooney said Colbert, 65, is interested is remaining in a reduced capacity this season, but the Steelers will start conducting outside interviews immediately for the position.
"We have left the door open to possibly have him fill an on-going role after the draft," Rooney said. "But we probably won't make a hire until after the draft."
During a Zoom call on Friday with media members, Rooney also said finding a mobile quarterback to replace Ben Roethlisberger is "something that would be desirable" and all options will be considered.
The Steelers have already conducted internal interviews with vice president of business and football operations Omar Khan and director of pro personnel Brandon Hunt about replacing Colbert. But Rooney said he is not afraid to go outside the organization to find Colbert's successor, much like the Steelers did when they hired Mike Tomlin as head coach in 2007 over internal candidates Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt.
Colbert has had an agreement with Rooney for several years to operate under a series of one-year contracts because he wasn't sure how long he wanted to continue in his role. His greatest ability was as a talent evaluator and putting together the draft board for the Steelers.
"We'll be hiring someone who can fill all those responsibilities, Number 1 being a talent evaluator and putting the draft together," Rooney said. "We're looking for someone who fits with the way we're structured and our culture. We're not looking to change our own structure."
Meanwhile, Rooney did not say what the team's plans are to replace Roethlisberger, who retired after 18 seasons with the Steelers, other than to acknowledge the quarterbacks who are under contract for 2022 — Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins.
But he gave a hint into what the Steelers are thinking when he said mobile quarterbacks "are the wave of the future" and the team "won't close any doors at this point" about finding Roethlisberger's successor. Neither Rudolph nor Haskins are considered mobile quarterbacks who can move around and bide time outside the pocket like a young Roethlisberger.
"We'll be looking at the other options," Rooney said. "Like any position, we want to put the best roster on the field and the best quarterback on the field for us next year."
Rooney added, "You have to take advantage of whatever opportunity you have to get the best quarterback you can find. You don't always have the luxury 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."
Rooney said his preference for a mobile quarterback is not someone who can only run with the ball.
"The other thing that's desirable is someone who can read a defense and complete a pass downfield," he said.
"There's a lot of pieces to the puzzle. You don't always get someone who meets all the criteria you want."
Rooney said he never wants to complain too much about making the playoffs, but said "it was an up and down season" and knows the Steelers have to improve on both sides of the ball. He said the foundation for 2022 has to be running the ball and stopping the run. The Steelers finished 29th in the league in rush offense and 32nd in rush defense.
"At times we couldn't stop the run to be successful," Rooney said. "Those are things we need to get right. I do think we have core players on both sides of the ball to build around."
To that end, he made it sound as though Matt Canada will return as offensive coordinator when he said, "That's something Matt will want to address this offseason."
