Mike Tomlin’s unexpected exit presents challenges in finding a head coach to fill his shoes. For the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo, it also provides a chance for the franchise to make big changes. For a team stuck in place for years, 2026 might be the year for Pittsburgh Steelers’ GM Omar Khan to do something radical.
“I think really this is a perfect opportunity for both Omar and Andy, if he stays, to really shape this roster the way they wanna shape it,” Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan Friday. “I’m not saying they didn’t have that chance for the last three years, but we all know Mike was pretty involved in the process. So I think this is gonna be something new for them as they go through this with the new head coach.”
As Fittipaldo cautioned, Assistant GM Andy Weidl could depart for the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager job. He interviewed for the role on Thursday. But Khan will be back, and he, along with owner Art Rooney II, will hire a new head coach and a brand-new coaching staff. It’s a chance to take the team in a different direction. If the Steelers so choose, they could lean into a modern-day offensive approach to compete with football’s most potent units. A stark contrast to Mike Tomlin and his affinity for all things defense.
While the roster will naturally be reshaped, it wouldn’t be for the first time. Over the last several offseasons, the Steelers’ roster has been turned over. Only a handful of players from even a couple of years ago remain. Pittsburgh has started five different Week 1 quarterbacks in the past five seasons. First round rookies like Kenny Pickett. Veterans like Aaron Rodgers. Revival projects like Justin Fields. The trenches have been revamped, the secondary vastly different than even two years ago, and the team took an uncharacteristic swing by trading for WR DK Metcalf last March.
None of the moves has pushed Pittsburgh in any direction, backward or forward. Perhaps that was an issue centric to Tomlin. Getting the most out of a roster to be playoff competitive, but unable to get it over the hump. Of course, without a franchise quarterback, the Steelers’ ceiling is capped.
Without Tomlin, the power structure may shift more in Khan’s favor. That alone is a difference. Philosophically, the team may shift. But on roster changes themselves, Pittsburgh’s gone down that path before without desired results.