Two potential coaching changes for Steelers

There won’t be any sweeping changes to the Steelers’ coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s not going anywhere. We know that both Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin will be retained in their respective coordinator roles. Both Rooney and Tomlin mentioned changes to the coaching staff, and now there might a couple that could be coming as final decisions are made.

The contracts for defensive line coach Karl Dunbar and outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin have expired and, according to team sources, there’s a significant chance neither coach will be retained.

Regarding Dunbar, moving on from him would be perhaps the most significant move regarding any assistant coach. He’s been the team’s defensive line coach since 2018 and has helped several players reach their greatest potential in Pittsburgh, including Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt, and he works with edge rushers such as T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Bud Dupree — the list goes on.

From what I’ve been told, the Steelers don’t necessarily have a strong desire to move on from Dunbar. Rather, it’s more likely Dunbar looking for something else, whether it’s another coaching job or something less time consuming. Dunbar’s 57 years old. He’s a well respected coach throughout the league. If he’s available, there will be teams interested in him.

If the Steelers opted to move on from Martin, that’d be a pretty significant move, as well. Outside linebacker is one of the team’s strengths. Martin has also been put in situations to grow, such as accompanying secondary coach Grady Brown to the Senior Bowl two years ago to coach prospects in Mobile, Ala., for the week-long pre-draft event.

If these changes are made, it could also mean quite a bit regarding the general outlook of the team. The last time the Steelers took the field, they were gashed on the ground for 299 rushing yards in the wild-card loss to the Ravens. As one source told me, “That leaves a sour taste in your mouth.” Should Dunbar and the Steelers fail to agree on a new contract and Martin also not be retained, it would give the Steelers a chance to have two new voices for the players up front.

As we learned throughout this week at the Senior Bowl, defensive line will be a priority throughout the draft process. The team invested a lot of time looking at and meeting with the defensive linemen this week, and it just so happens to be a very deep position in this class. Adding one or two young talents to that room along with two new coaches could provide a bit of a reset up front.

Tomlin already left Mobile, so final decisions for the coaching staff should be coming sooner rather than later.

• While I don’t have this completely ironclad, my general feeling from all conversations I’ve had is coaches currently under contract will not be fired. That includes offensive line coach Pat Meyer, who just re-signed with the team last spring. So, coaches with expiring contracts are being discussed whether or not they’ll be retained while coaches under contract seem to be safe. Sounds like business as usual to me.

• Unlike all of the coaches this week, Omar Khan doesn’t do a lot out in the open during Senior Bowl practices. He prefers to stay out of sight. Only saw him a few times throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. Just the way he prefers to work events such as these. But, the meetings with players carry more weight for him at this point anyway. He lets the coaches and scouts do their thing.

• Nothing new yet on the quarterback situation. All I know is the team has had very preliminary talks with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, but they aren’t close to making that decision just yet. That’s likely the first player decision that’s made, but it’s also a little out of their hands. Both players are unrestricted free agents and have the right to look elsewhere.

• Quarterback is not high up on the Steelers’ radar just yet regarding the draft. One name I’ve heard they’re interested in is Ohio State’s Will Howard. He was supposed to be at the Senior Bowl, but pulled out last week after winning the national championship with the Buckeyes. Had he been here, we might have seen a little bit more interest from the Steelers at quarterback this week, which was very lacking.

• One position to watch throughout the draft process is tight end. No, it’s not a position of need for the Steelers. But, this is a ridiculously good class of tight ends. I’ve heard that from various scouts, and a couple of Steelers people I’ve spoken with this week are also intrigued.

• It’s only a matter of time before the game in Ireland is official. It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point. Some expected it to already be announced by now. But, all of the Ts have to be crossed and Is dotted.