Chris Mueller: Rooney's offseason address leaves plenty of questions about Steelers' future

Art Rooney II conducted his annual meeting with the assembled media Friday. It doesn’t take much reading to note the fact that Rooney, as is always the case, was measured and conservative with most of his comments.

One small snippet in particular caught my eye, however. It was the closest thing to an acknowledgement that appearances, at least as they pertained to this team, were deceiving.

After noting that the team did make the playoffs, and that it’s tough to raise too many issues after such a year, Rooney said “it was an up and down season” and that the team is in need of improvement in just about every facet.

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Perhaps that’s a nod to the reality that Ben Roethlisberger is gone. Rooney was more defiant after last year’s 12-4 season, perhaps because the record was simply that much better, but also perhaps because with Roethlisberger presumably returning, he felt that some of the team’s problems were overstated.

Remember the narrative that Roethlisberger, with one extra year between him and elbow surgery, would not only have a stronger arm but also be better physically, despite being 39 years old? Perhaps Rooney really did buy into that hogwash.

What’s important now is that he proceeds like his team is far away. Given that he also said 2022 was not a rebuilding year, and was about contending for a Super Bowl, I’m not going to hold my breath.

As for the rest of Rooney’s comments, the one thing that stuck out was his being in lockstep with Mike Tomlin about the importance of mobility for the team’s next quarterback – not necessarily a pure runner, but a player with mobility enough to avoid the rush and make plays downfield – which suggests that he and Tomlin may have realized they were hamstrung with the glacially slow Roethlisberger last season.

Of course, that calls into question why the team brought him back at all, but my head is starting to hurt just thinking about that, so let’s move on.

Anyway, let’s get back to where we started, with Rooney making a tacit admission that 9-7-1 and a first-round playoff exit wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. He might be crazy to think that the team’s aim is to contend for a Super Bowl this season – unless Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson, plus a draft that would make 1974 blush is in the plans – but that doesn’t mean that the groundwork for a much-needed refresh can’t be laid starting this offseason.

I would love to report here that, after a season he acknowledged was “up and down,” Rooney is going to respond to an unprecedented offseason – tons of cap room, a retired Roethlisberger, a retired Keith Butler and a soon-to-be-retired Kevin Colbert – with some significant changes handed down from the owner’s box, but that sure sounds unlikely.

On free agency, Rooney indicated that the Steelers had more space with which to operate, and said, “We have some holes to fill, and hopefully having some cap space is going to allow us to do some of those things, as well as in the draft.”

I get that a loud statement that the franchise is open for free-agent business isn’t smart, because it might take some of the team’s leverage, but given that they’ve never been the type to make major acquisitions in that realm, it seems more likely that any additions will be of the modest variety, and that the draft, as it always does, will serve as the team’s primary source of talent acquisition.

Colbert will retire after the 2022 draft, but his successor won’t be named until after that work is done, according to Rooney. One hopes that if Colbert’s intention is to draft Roethlisberger’s successor this year, that the person who will succeed him as general manager also likes the player, something that can only be known for sure if the candidate is in-house.

As far as Mike Tomlin and calling the defensive signals, Rooney deferred to his head coach, saying, “I think that’s really something that is mostly between coach and his coordinators. As we change defensive coordinators now, there may be some changes in how coach Tomlin handles that.”

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Translation: there won’t be. It’s pretty clear from those comments that Rooney has no intention of forcing a change in how things are done on game day.

As for Matt Canada’s future, Rooney seemed to tip his hand on that subject as well. In speaking about the need for the Steelers to run the ball more effectively in 2022, he said, “That’s something Matt will want to address this offseason.”

So there you have it. But for a stray remark here or there, a lot of standard-issue stuff for an owner who always plays it that way. Art Rooney II does seem to recognize that the Pittsburgh Steelers are facing some big questions; what remains to be seen is whether or not he – or anyone – within the organization will step outside of their respective comfort zones to find the answers.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Mueller: Rooney's offseason address leaves plenty of questions about Steelers' future