This week’s “Football Footnotes” provides an in-depth look at many topics Mike Tomlin addressed regarding the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers during his season-ending press conference.

Except for the quarterbacks. We talked about them already.

But there are plenty of other marshmallows in this bowl of Lucky Charms.

The big picture

Tomlin was asked whether he thought the Steelers were closer to the teams that are playing this weekend in the AFC divisional round than they were a year ago.

“Certainly,” Tomlin said. “But we’re watching and not playing. So, there’s work to be done.

“There’s no degree of (stink). It all (stinks). … It’s a really good feeling to be in that tournament, as the road gets narrow. And to be living out the things that you aspired to live out over the last 12 months. It’s not us. And it (stinks).”

I agree with the last part of Tomlin’s statement. But the first part? I’m not so sure.

Are the Steelers really closer to competing with the top four teams in the AFC than they were in 2022? They were 10-7 this year as opposed to 9-8 last year. They made the playoffs as the final wild card as opposed to missing out by one slot.

But is that evidence the Steelers really progressed? Or the fact that Jacksonville gagged against the Tennessee Titans and that the Bills, Chiefs and Bengals aren’t quite as good as they were a year ago?

Does it matter in the sense that Mason Rudolph got them to 10-7 from 7-7 and that he might be on a different team next year?

Let’s be honest. There are 32 teams in the NFL. Of that group, 14 franchises — nearly half — make the playoffs. Twelve teams finished between 8-10 wins in 2023.

Whatever progress the Steelers made this year is negligible. That progress is significantly mitigated by the fact that they might go back to Kenny Pickett at QB next year and have the unknown variable of changing the offensive coordinator.

As for the OC

Tomlin flatly stated that he wants next year’s offensive coordinator to be hired from outside the organization.

“I’m looking at outside candidates and lining up the pecking order there,” Tomlin said.

I think that’s wise. I just hope that Tomlin truly means “outside.”

Bringing in Byron Leftwich just because he was a Steeler, Luke Getsy just because he went to Steel Valley or Alex Van Pelt just because he went to Pitt would simply be another version of “inside” the organization, in my opinion.

The Steelers don’t need new blood. The Steelers need new ideas of what a Pittsburgh offense should look like.

Unless one of those guys stands out head and shoulders above all other candidates, hiring someone just because they know what “Steelers football is all about” would be counterintuitive to that process.

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Other side of the ball

For as much attention as the vacant offensive coordinator position has gotten, Tomlin didn’t diffuse any conversation about making changes on the defensive side of the ball either.

“I’m not going to speculate about staffing at this juncture,” Tomlin said. “I just acknowledge that things change this time of year. It’s just a component of our business at this level. And I’m sensitive in respect to it.”

In other words, there may be changes on the defensive end too. Tomlin is known to be heavily influential on that side of the ball. So it’ll be interesting to see how significant those changes are.

A position-coach change here or there may not be a big deal. But if Tomlin were to surprise by moving on from Teryl Austin as coordinator, that may signal a drastic sea change in terms of how Tomlin is approaching the management of his staff in general.

Perhaps he’ll cede more control of the defense to a different coordinator and split his duties to be more involved in the offensive end.

Or it could be that Tomlin is saying that he’ll yield even more management to Austin so that he can spend more time on the offensive side of the ball with the new coordinator there.

Either way, the fact that Tomlin left the door open on that front is interesting.

Inside linebackers

I wasn’t a fan of how the Steelers assembled their inside linebacker position heading into this season. I thought there were better players available than the guys they acquired at affordable prices.

But Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander proved to be a solid rotating trio to fill two spots. I was pleasantly surprised.

Unfortunately, the three of them didn’t stay healthy together for very long. Holcomb was lost for the year on Nov. 2, thanks to a severe knee injury. Alexander suffered an Achilles injury on Nov. 12. Roberts fought through injuries but played admirably in an extended role for 16 games.

Yet Tomlin seemed dubious of reuniting that trio next year.

“We were getting better production from that group,” he said. “Ball production, forced fumbles, turnovers, interceptions, etc. But the attrition component was a treacherous thing to navigate. We’ve got some decisions to make around that position particularly and others, but the health factor was significant.”

For as much as those three impressed, injury history was one of the big red flags when the group was assembled, and it proved to be a problem. So, I get why Tomlin may be reluctant to reboot the process with the same corps.

Then again, the constant probing and reevaluation of players at that position in the post-Ryan Shazier era feels like a cursed black hole for the franchise.

Following up

On Thursday, I suggested that offensive tackle Broderick Jones should switch from the right side to the left side this offseason.

Jones said playing on the left side is “ideal,” but he didn’t want to lobby for a change because he didn’t want to create a problem.

Here’s what Tomlin said when asked about that idea: “Undecided as of yet. Obviously, he has capabilities in that area, but he was more than capable at right tackle as well.”

He was, indeed. But if the team is bending over backward for last year’s first-round pick to excel in the best possible set of circumstances, maybe it should apply the same formula to this year’s first-round draft pick.

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