Should the Pittsburgh Steelers go outside their organization for an offensive coordinator for the first time in a dozen years (Todd Haley, 2012), their options could be limited.
It doesn’t look like it now, but Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are beholden to Kenny Pickett as QB1 in 2024. They invested a first-round draft pick on him, and we all know how rare it is for Tomlin to walk back a decision like that, no matter what the consequences.
The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly feels Pickett as the cemented starter could weed out some quality candidates.
“I think there will be some candidates out there who would only take the job if Pickett wasn’t the starter,” Kaboly wrote in a recent mailbag. “If that’s the case, then the Steelers wouldn’t hire them. Like it or not, Pickett is going to be a part of this team for the next two years and could very well be inserted back into the starting lineup next year, so the new OC had better like what he’s seen out of KP.”
Tomlin won’t hand over the keys of the offense to a new coordinator. Candidates — and there are plenty newly out of work — who want to come in with their own vision at QB will have to look elsewhere.
