Is Colbert Quietly on the 'Hot Seat'?

[rich4eagle]

Originally Posted by SteelersCanada

I know this might not be the popular opinion or a well-recognized one, but I think that Colbert might in fact be on the hot seat. Looking back for a second, take a look at the contrasting opinions of the team that Colbert and Tomlin have expressed. Mike said the traditional coach-type things - disappointing season, obviously not where we wanted to be, we have room to improve.

Colbert, on the other hand, was far more blunt, upfront and almost confrontational. His message that the entire team should be on their toes and they're " ... not married to any free agents" makes me think that Colbert might be feeling pressure from up top, not Tomlin.

Let's look at the draft picks from the last couple of years.

A great example of missing on draft picks would be the '08 draft. Not only did we miss on almost every single pick in that draft, we missed on the most essential ones. Now, Mendenhall is going to walk from the team and test free agency. This fact might not have been important if we had a legitimate RB on the roster to replace him with. Now, we're almost forced to use a fairly high pick on a RB in either this draft or next years.

We could also point to missing on Limas Sweed, too. We're in a very similar situation with with our receivers that we are with our 'backs. We're forced to use a high pick in again, this year or next years draft because of talent walking away and having little-to-no depth behind our starters.

That's just the '08 draft, though. Let's go ahead and look at the more recent ones. In 2009, we took Ziggy and for the most part, he has been underwhelming. He hasn't looked like a first round pick in the snaps he has received and ultimately, the starting role he walked into. Now, this could be because we were used to seeing Smith in that role or it could be, quite frankly, he isn't very good. 2010, 2011 and 2012 we seemed to hit on our first round picks. Heyward and DeCastro have both shown flashes and great potential in the time they have started, but are going to need more time to get an accurate representation of these guys.

It's not just about missing on draft picks, though. Look at the current cap situation we're in - it's a mess. Now, this could be a joint-effort between him and Khan but ultimately, the current contract situation we're in falls on the shoulders of Colbert. Being this far over the cap and admitting that "we don't have many franchise players" is a serious problem and one that needs to be addressed. I don't know whose idea it was to give Harrison that lucrative a deal when he was starting to show signs of aging, but that problem will ultimately fall on Colbert and Harrison's ridiculous cap hit is one of the many problems we're facing this offseason.

Colbert's response to questions seemed cold and of a guy who realizes that another down year with another series of missed draft picks might spell out the end of for him. With the interest in Khan over the last few years, I don't know how much longer we can keep him around. If next offseason we're in a similar mess with another series of ridiculous contracts and a series of missed draft picks, Colbert could ultimately be on his way out the door and I think he knows it. It's why in his interview he sounded more angry and frustrated than he has in the past and this could be because he realizes he has to make this offseason work or he's going to be working for another team come this time next year. With the way the Browns are hiring everyone off the street, it could be Cleveland.

that would be stupid Colbert is the strenght of the franchise but I seen dumb rule often in myopic regimes

[madtowndrunkard]

I think it says Mike Tomlin is on the hot seat for next season.

[TheVet]

Originally Posted by madtowndrunkard

I think it says Mike Tomlin is on the hot seat for next season.

No, I'm fairly certain that the standard is the standard there, even if it's a bit substandard at this point. The Rooneys are patient, and Tomlin is still young. And the man does have accomplishments.

Although Tomlin hasn't yet demonstrated much capacity for learning from his mistakes, that could begin to change if/when he matures as a head coach. It's far too soon to pull the plug on such a dedicated, hard-working man, especially a SB winner - even given the legitimate disappointment with his inconsistent performance and lack of growth.

[Lady Steel]

I don't think Colbert is in the hot seat. There are going to be changes, dontcha know!


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[rich4eagle]

I went through a litany of posts. My thoughts remain the same as they have for two years maybe three under Tomlin.

Colbert going would be a huge loss to the franchise.

He gets players who can play and win!

Now strategies on game day and coaching the players are the responsibility of Tomlin and his staff.

My guess is Dick Lebeau has been told to play softer coverage way too much the last few years. Rarely, have the Steelers gone for the jugular on third down instead played soft zones and gave up firsts

Rarely have the Steelers gone in Q4 in a close game and gone for the kill
Rarely has the Steeler Offense done anything but sit on the ball when ahead

I cannot remember the last time the Steelers smashed an opponent in a close game in Q3 and Q4

This past season the Offense was horrible, horrible

None of the above is Colbert's fault the players are there

The strategies SUCK

Right now I am in the camp the Steelers won in the past despite Tomlin's bad game day coaching
Right now I am in the camp the Steelers play to too soft on offense always and too soft on defense in the end game

So, doing this stuff for half a century, right now, my gun is firmly pointed at Tomlin, and then Haley, we got the players but you cannot win a race holding the reins on the horses and telling them prevent themselves from winning

That last phrase to me seems to the Steelers biggest problem,,,,,,,,,,,,fixing that is solely the responsiblity of Tomlin, Haley and LeBeau

BTW, one of the dumbest things I have ever witnessed is the running back by committee of four which guarantees NONE of them gets a game feel and good procduction. Two carries every two Q's guarantees lousy running game performance. Redman is the lone back with upside. Dwyer does not make decisive runs, Mendenhall is a fumble and brain fart waiting to happen. Redman when given the chance to get his legs on see the hole hits and pushes te pile............. We need a complement to Redman the rest good bye. We have great WR's used to get four yards passes whhoopie??????????? The D has enough solid players to go back to what Steelers do, destroy and desrupt and offense instead of sitting back and hoping and offense screws up. Time for Tomlin to step up and manage a game to win instead of to survive

[3rdandlong]

The past couple drafts have not been Colbert's best, but I would never think of firing the man. He have one of the best front offices in the league. It's really hard to contend for a Super Bowl every year if you don't have Tom Brady. We've been Super Bowl contenders for nearly every season the last 10 years. It's hard to argue with it. We may be in a slight rebuilding phase but Colbert is almost an untouchable in my mind