Three years ago, the Steelers owners wouldn't have been wrong to fire general manager Kevin Colbert. Colbert's recent drafts at that point were full of too many misses. The defense was getting old, and the rebuilding process was flawed. The team had missed the playoffs in both 2012 and '13.
Cobert probably would have been fired by any number of other teams at that point. The Steelers don't operate that way, though, and that's why they are the best organization in the NFL. The Patriots have won more since 2000 but the Steelers' success dates back to the late 1960s with the promotion of Dan Rooney and hiring of Chuck Noll.
The Steelers long-term success has been in large part because they have hired good people and then believed in those people even during tough times. The Steelers have always had the philosophy of staying the course. They have given coaches and front-office personnel time to turn things around.
That's why it isn't surprising that Colbert survived those rough seasons and bad drafts. He has rewarded the Steelers patience with a run of really good drafts and the Steelers are now once again a Super Bowl contender. In turn, the Steelers rewarded Colbert with a two-year contract extension Thursday.
Make no mistake, Colbert deserved this extension. He absolutely earned it and Steelers fans should celebrate the fact that he is going to stick around for a few more years. He hasn't been perfect, as noted, but his good work has far outweighed his bad.
That's especially true when you take into consideration three of the Steelers past four drafts and how they have impacted the team. Colbert's drafting (with some level of help from Mike Tomlin) has provided the Steelers the boost they needed to get back into the hunt for a Super Bowl. He also has made some good free agent signings to complement the home-grown talent (though he is also responsible for the worst free agent signing in Steelers history: Ladarius Green).
A quick glance of his recent drafts shows how the defense is slowly emerging as one of the top defenses in the league again. The 2014 draft provided two defensive starters in Ryan Shazier and Stephon Tuitt. The 2016 draft provided three starters in Artie Burns, Sean Davis and Javon Hargrave. This 2017 draft class appears to be deep with good players, and the first-round pick, T.J. Watt, will start at outside linebacker as a rookie.
Six of those seven players are starters on the defensive side of the ball. Add to that group 2015 first-round pick Bud Dupree, who starts at linebacker, and seven of the 11 starters on the Steelers defense have been in the league three years or less. That bodes well for the future.
Colbert has been the general manager for 18 years. In football terms, that is a lifetime, but not really for the Steelers, who are built on a foundation of stability and patience. The Steelers didn't draft well (for the most part) from 2008-12 and it hurt their transition from the aging group that went to three Super Bowls in six years.
But his moves over the past few years have the Steelers strong enough to win their third AFC North title in four years and contend for the AFC title for the second year in a row.
There are a lot of people in the Steelers organization who have contributed to this recent revival, but Colbert is the man who pulls it all together and makes it all work.
Colbert, the only man who has ever had the title Steelers general manager, will be 62 when this contract extension ends. Hopefully, for the Steelers sake, he decides to work a few more years beyond that. He has played a large role in the Steelers' success over the past 18 years and because of his recent drafts, that run figures to continue into the foreseeable future.
