Long-time Lions sufferers may recall that Kevin Colbert spent the '90s in the Lions front office, at a time when the team made the playoffs with decent regularity. Colbert lost a power struggle with Lions GM Chuck Schmidt and moved on to Pittsburgh.
Guess who got the better of that deal?
Colbert went on to architect the Steelers teams that won Super Bowls in '06 and '09. As is The Steeler Way, he’s now been there forever (except when they do that, they do it with good, competent people; not Russ Thomas and Matt Millen and Bob Quinn). So Colbert is also the architect of this year’s 10-0 Pittsburgh team.
I marvel at the Steelers. Year in and year out, their roster is so stocked, so deep, across the board. They clearly know what they are doing in personnel. Their drafting is stellar. And their pro pickups are, too. Minkah Fitzpatrick, anybody?
So, let’s get some payback from the ruinous horror of Colbert’s departure. Let’s find our next GM out of his department.
But who?
The Steelers’ player personnel coordinator is Dan Rooney Jr. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the Lions won’t be able to entice him away.
Omar Khan is their Vice President of Football & Business Administration. He’s been in the front office since 2001, so he’s been instrumental in all that success. But reading up on him, his specialty within the organization seems to be business administration, cap management, etc. Which doesn’t necessarily exclude him – can we get him to replace the Fords’ butler, Rod Wood? But I think I’d prefer someone who has been intimately involved in that sweet player procurement.
Brandon Hunt is their Pro Scouting Coordinator. He’s been there since 2010. He interviewed for the Eagles front-office job in 2016.
This article indicates the Steelers’ succession plan for Colbert would probably have Hunt as the front-runner. BUT Colbert isn’t that old, mid-60s. Could Hunt get tired of waiting for his shot?
I’ve got to imagine the Steelers, the way they retain and treat their staff, is probably not an organization one walks away from lightly.
Hunt would definitely be a target for the Lions.
And how 'bout Phil Kreidler, their college scouting coordinator? Go scroll through some Steelers drafts over the past decade. Day-umm! They’re like the anti-Mayhew, the anti-Quinn.
Kreidler has been a scout with the Steelers since '92 (!!) He was promoted to college scouting coordinator in 2003. He’s a Steelers lifer, and clearly had a major hand in ALL of their post-'70s success.
Here’s a nice article from last year, with the Steelers talking about their third-round pick WR Diontae Johnson. A “why you should be excited about this pick” article right after the draft.
General Manager Kevin Colbert, like Drake, was effusive in is praise of Johnson.
“Diontae Johnson is a nice insider-, outside-capable receiver that does both punt and kick returns,” Colbert assessed. "When we talked about Diontae in our meetings, Phil Kreidler, our scouting coordinator, when he read his report on Diontae was just kind of funny. I know Coach Drake used the same terms, but (Kreidler) must’ve said ‘natural’ five times.
“It’s just what we believe, that this kid is just a natural football talent.”
Johnson currently looks like a pretty good player. They certainly know how to draft WRs in Pittsburgh: A. Brown, JuJu, Diontae, James Washington, Chase Claypool.
A piece from 2017 draft time gives insight into how Colbert and Kreidler approach drafting players.
“The best piece of advice I ever got was ‘don’t look for negatives. Keep looking for positives until you know it’s not there”, Colbert said. It’s a pretty intuitive idea, but I think it helps to shape a certain mentality. You can become blinded if you identify a fault in a prospect and dismiss him too hastily.
“We always want to focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t”, Kreidler said in following up, “because if they can do a lot of positive things, then we can coach and improve some of their deficiencies.”
But try Googling anything about Kreidler, or him interviewing anywhere. It’s a big blank. Do Colbert and the Steelers want to keep it that way? Is he someone just not interested in the big chair, and happy where he is in life?
If I’m the Lions, I’m putting Kreidler and Hunt on my short-list for interviews. Get 'er done.