The Pittsburgh Steelers enter their Week 9 bye with a 2-6 record and sit at the bottom of the AFC North. Many were convinced that head coach, Mike Tomlin would relieve offensive coordinator, Matt Canada of his duties this week, but he confirmed on Wednesday that he was not considering any coaching staff changes at this time. According to Brooke Pryor of ESPN, Tomlin isn't ruling out other significant changes however.
Mike Tomlin says that while he’s not ruling out a “significant change” in the bye, that he is NOT considering coaching or coordinator change.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 2, 2022
The question becomes if it's not firing his offensive play caller, what could a 'significant' change mean for the team and what does that term mean to the head coach himself? There are numerous possibilities as the team has underperformed in every category, but these are the most likely and could become reality ahead of the organization's Week 10 matchup against the New Orleans Saints:
1.) Steelers Newcomer William Jackson III Replaces Ahkello Witherspoon at CB
Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon warms up prior to a 2022 preseason game. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
This isn't necessarily the sexiest move and some may not even consider it significant, but Witherspoon has been bad this season and was benched against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The cornerback has allowed four touchdowns and quarterbacks have a 126.1 passer rating when targeting him along with completing 75.9% of those passes.
On Sunday specifically, Jalen Hurts went 6/7 for 83 yards and two touchdowns against Witherspoon. Jackson III was not a great fit with the Washington Commanders scheme and it makes sense why Pittsburgh took a flier on him ahead of the NFL's trade deadline on Tuesday. He can't possibly put out a worse effort and he is a talented guy who wasn't in the right system. This is the most likely change to happen over the next two weeks as long as Jackson III gets up to speed.
2.) Signing A Veteran Wide Receiver
No, the Steelers aren't going to sign Odell Beckham Jr., but the team does need help at the position now that Chase Claypool finds himself with the Chicago Bears after being traded away. A guy like Will Fuller V is still out there and if healthy, could give a boost to a room that now has Steven Sims as a starting wideout. It could work for both parties where Fuller gets a chance to show teams he is healthy and ready to sign in 2023 and gives Kenny Pickett another weapon to replace Claypool.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Steven Sims (#88) participates in 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Other names that come to mind are veterans, T.Y. Hilton and Adam Humphries. Neither are making the Steelers a contender by any means, but depth is necessary at the position and with Calvin Austin III out for the season, a move is possible at some point this week.
3.) Could Jaylen Warren Become RB1?
It is unlikely that Tomlin completely benches second-year running back, Najee Harris, but Warren should be making it very difficult for him not to. Warren is averaging 5.3 yards per carry while Harris is at just 3.3. The numbers are a bit skewed as a lot of Warren's yardage has come when the team is losing and opposing defenses are expecting the offense to pass late in games, but his hard, downfield running cannot be ignored.
Harris has just 361 yards on 108 carries to Warren's 153 on 29. The small sample size for the undrafted rookie is an impressive one. The two ball carriers are running behind the same offensive line. One has had success, the other has not. A 50/50 split workload would be significant as Warren has played roughly 30% of snaps this season, but demoting Harris to switch on and off would be a big development.
Do you think any of the 'significant changes' could be coming for the Steelers during and after the bye? Let us know in the comments below!
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