Based on what NFL on CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala said on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday, the Steelers coaching staff is taking all the criticism of Kenny Pickett to heart.
“There was a lot of chatter at the Combine doubting Kenny Pickett,” Kinkhabwala told hosts Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “And, I’ll tell you, multiple new members of this staff felt so charged, sort of so angered by that, that there’s most definitely a personal investment in seeing him succeed. It’s almost like a piece of the staff is taking it very, very personally that people want to trade Kenny Picket off for other people’s trash.”
It’s interesting to note that Kinkhabwala is citing “new” members of the Steelers coaching staff.
In other words, coaches that haven’t coached Pickett yet. Coaches that might be thinking they are working with more clay to mold than what they really are. Those new coaches include offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and quarterbacks coach Tom Arth.
But if the Steelers are upset at the criticism of Pickett, they better understand where it is originating. It’s not all from columnists and talk show hosts like me. It’s also coming from former Super Bowl champion Steelers, such as Ryan Clark on ESPN.
While on “Get Up” Wednesday, Clark said that he expects the Steelers will indeed stick by Pickett unless he gets outperformed by a veteran quarterback acquired to push him.
“They’re going to try to go out and get a veteran that can push Kenny Pickett — a veteran that they can have an unbiased competition with,” Clark said. “If Kenny Pickett wins that, now they can walk into the season and say, ‘OK, we went out, and we tried to improve at the position — whether it’s Ryan Tannehill or Russell Wilson — and Kenny Pickett was a better choice than they were to lead the team this year. So now we have the confidence in the guy we drafted in the first round with the 20th pick (in 2022).’ And if they do all that, it is going to be on brand for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
However, I’m getting the sense that when Clark says “on brand for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” he doesn’t mean it in the most complimentary way possible.
“It’s going to be dead wrong in this situation,” Clark said of the prospect of Pickett maintaining the starting job. “Because you’re going to strap your team to a quarterback that can’t lead you to the promised land. And the reason that the Terrible Towel means something, the reason that the six Lombardis mean something, is because that organization was built on excellence. Kenny Pickett is not going to be your leader to the promised land of excellence. And if he’s not, I do believe it’s time to go do something to make it different at that position.”
Yeah. What he said.
Regarding Clark’s soliloquy about what the Steelers used to be known for in terms of excellence, it sounds like he is saying that the “standard” is no longer “the standard.”
That’s not a reflection of the “new” coaches. That’s a reflection of the 18-year veteran head coach who coined that phrase, not to mention the holdovers on that staff that have been at least a part of seven consecutive seasons without a playoff victory.
Clark is giving the impression that he is dubious of Pickett’s chances to be under center and snap that string this year. But if merely avoiding losing seasons is the team’s goal, then, perhaps, Pickett is the guy.
Perhaps. That may be a best-case scenario.
And if the Steelers’ “new” coaches don’t like reading that, maybe take it up with the “old” Steeler who has a Super Bowl ring on his finger.
They sure won’t see many of those around this current locker room.
