The NFL cycle moves quickly, both for players and coaches. That’s no different for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On Jan. 13, Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons as head coach. On Jan. 27, the Steelers introduced Mike McCarthy as the 17th head coach in franchise history and just the fourth since 1969.

With Tomlin’s resignation and McCarthy’s hiring, a lot of change is coming to the Steelers’ coaching staff. Already, former special teams coordinator Danny Smith has left for Tampa Bay, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar was reportedly not retained, and outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys.

The changes have been a bit surreal for Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.

“Obviously the past couple weeks have definitely been different going into facility and not seeing anybody there. It’s just weird. It’s just different,” Highsmith said on the latest episode of teammate Christian Kuntz’s podcast, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “But I went through this in college my last year, going into my senior year at college. And so, I know it’s gonna be different, but I know that as you get a new coach, a new staff, you gotta buy into their culture and what they want to do. It’s definitely been weird ’cause I’ve never been through this in the league.

“But this happened for a reason. We just gotta trust the process, as much as it sucks.”

Change is difficult, but it can be good. It doesn’t make it any less shocking though.

Steelers players were reportedly shocked by Tomlin’s decision to step down. That it came less than 24 hours after a painful, ugly loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card round at home didn’t make it any less jarring.

Tomlin’s decision created a ripple effect.

The assistant coaches were reportedly told by GM Omar Khan to clean out their offices, which caused the coaching cycle to speed up even more.

“It’s a weird feeling. You go in the building and people are clearing out their offices, teary-eyed. It sucks,” Kuntz said. “They’re losing their jobs, livelihoods. People have been here for years. Families have moved here, and now they’re not getting brought back. So it’s not so much about like getting fired or getting let go, ’cause it’s the business. The people that have been in the NFL, strength coaches, training staff equipment, players, they know the business, scouts. They know a coach goes a position coach goes, I might be gone. But it’s more so about the relationships you form in there. People have friends, lifelong friends that they’ve made that they golf with, they hang out with like that.

“That’s the hardest part when people are packing up their life, the relationships. You might not ever see a guy ever again.”

That’s the reality of the business. People come and go on the coaching staff, in the front office and on the roster all the time. It’s the Not For Long league, after all. And after a number of years of general stability on the coaching staff, things have changed in a drastic way for the Steelers with Tomlin stepping down and McCarthy coming in.

Though McCarthy is reportedly retaining linebackers coach Scott McCurley, quarterbacks coach Tom Arth and defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander, a lot of new coaches are set to come to Pittsburgh.

According to reports, the Steelers are set to hire Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator. They have reportedly hired a new wide receivers coach in Adam Henry and are set to bring in a pair of offensive line coaches, too, all of whom have experience working under McCarthy.

It’s going to be a staff filled with new faces, coaches the Steelers players will have to adjust to after many years of working with the same faces and understanding the same communication. It’s a challenge that they’ll adjust to. That’s the way of the game.

But it’s hard for players like Kuntz and Highsmith to see guys they’ve built relationships with over the years moving on.