Colbert isn’t leaving Pittsburgh. This isn’t about the idea of this being a challenge of resurrecting this team. Top 3 franchise vs bottom 3. 62 years old and purposely does 1 year contracts. He is closer to riding off into the sunset at a steeler great and being revered for the rest of his life than taking on the challenge that is the Detroit Lions.
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100% on point.
The Steelers front office excels in one area above all others, draft replacement. The Lions are not geared towards this currently, but try to split resources between free agent acquisitions and drafting starters for areas of deficiency. They have not excelled in either area. Whether it’s draft busts, or bad contracts to mediocre players, the Lions don’t have the Steelers front office prowess. The Steelers had that before Colbert was there, and they’ll have it after he’s gone.
Colbert has done nothing to suggest, or support, the idea that he’s a game changer.
To be clear, not many GM’s can make that kind of claim. Bobby Beatherd, Bill Polian, Bill Tobin, back in the day they could go into putrid organizations and make them respectable. I just don’t see where anyone can look at Colbert with that level of expectation and consider it a slam dunk.
In that vein, I think you have to put Colbert on an equal plane with some of the other candidates. I’m not saying Colbert would be a train wreck hire, I’m just not convinced he’s the kind of hire that people think he would be.
Can Colbert change the front office? Unknown, he didn’t have to.
Is Colbert a game changer at GM? Unknown. Steelers were the same before he got the job.
Can Colbert improve the scouting and mimic the Steelers success, or adapt and improve what the Lions are doing? Unknown.
Point is, there aren’t too many things he’s done where you can legitimately point out and say, “That’s what Kevin Colbert brings to the table.” without being able to also be able to say, "that’s the Steelers front office being the Steelers front office, it’s what they’ve always done. ".
Imo, he embodies the Steelers approach of front office teamwork and fits perfectly there. Can he transform the Lions into that? I don’t know, I’d like to say yes. I’d like to have a grand slam hire in Colbert, but personally, I see holes in the accolades I can drive a truck through.
Any GM that comes in here is going to be inheriting a bottom tier front office. I don’t think anyone can argue that. Not the worst, but not even to the middle. Dear Lord, no one wants to see this team find a great GM more than I do. I’m just not buying in that the figurehead for a very strong front office team in the Steelers translates to the kind of game changer we desperately need.
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I gotcha. Who are you looking for or hoping for?
I would also add that BigWillie let us know that the Steelers are in the top 3 as far as biggest draws in the league. So even if Colbert got a player move wrong, the league is on his side. A lineman who can hold a few more times, a defensive back that can play a little more aggressive and a WR who draws a few more penalties sure does make you look a lot better than you would in Detroit.
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I kind of like Paton based upon how many teams past and present have coveted him. I think there’s definitely something to a guy who has interviewed and turned down interviews for the last nine years.
I also like Dodds. I think there’s a lot of great candidates out there. Which one is the best fit? Which will even be available for the Lions? I don’t know.
I’d be OK with Colbert, but I would definitely not be as enthusiastic as people who are blindly expecting the Lions front office to suddenly morph into the Steelers.
Something doesn’t seem right about his story to me. Did he actually turn down interviews he was a legit candidate for, or is that something his agents “leaked” to make him seem more appealing? And if he actually turned down interviews over the years…why? Which leads me to the end thought. The situation in Detroit is a mess that someone is going to have a lot of work cleaning up. If someone supposedly turned down interviews over the years to eventually take the Detroit job years later…it makes me wonder…because that doesn’t make any sense.
I think it’s more Colbert would be a fool to leave Pittsburgh and imo, the Lions would be bigger fools if they didn’t get him.
Rod Wood would have to give up control and I don’t think he cares enough about the Lions to admit that in some aspects of his job, he is over his head.
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Pittsburgh has no QB going forward. He could solve that by jumping to the Lions and taking on a challenge that would put him on Mount Rushmore of NFL GM’s. 62 is not old at all so that is a non issue. The question would be does he want a challenge or is he happy where he is?