The Steelers released center Mason Cole last week, paving the way for an interesting discussion on both how they intend to fill the position and what Cole’s release means about the direction of the offense.

Cole made 35 starts the past two seasons after signing in 2022 as a free agent. In taking over for then-rookie Kendrick Green, whose play was less than stellar, Cole provided a veteran presence and some stability in the middle of the line. He wasn’t great that year, but he showed enough for the Steelers to bring him back for a second season on the three-year deal he’d signed.

That narrative changed in 2023. Cole’s play regressed, especially from a physicality standpoint. Too often, Cole was pushed into the backfield by the league’s better one-tech tackles, allowing opposing defenses to command the A-gaps or forcing the Steelers to help Cole with a double team, thus freeing up linebackers to run to the football. Cole’s snaps regressed as well. This was likely a product of him trying to get his hands up quickly to block those powerful lineman, which prevented him from following through on his snap. The snap issues compounded the struggles at the quarterback position for Pittsburgh, and more or less forced the Steelers to make a move at center. In parting ways with Cole, the team saves about $4 million against the salary cap (see Dave Schofield’s article HERE explaining Pittsburgh’s current cap situation). All things considered, it was not a difficult call to make.

Now what? That’s the (multi) million dollar question. There are no marquee centers in the upcoming free agent market, and veterans like Connor James and Lloyd Cushenberry may either be too expensive or not enough of an upgrade over Cole to warrant an investment. If the Steelers want to stay in-house for a replacement, they could slide hulking guard Nate Herbig into Cole’s spot. The 6’4-340 pound Herbig was signed as a guard last off-season but has experience at center. So too does starting right guard James Daniels. More likely, Pittsburgh will look to the draft for a pro-ready replacement, where three potential studs are attractive. Oregon’s Ben Powers-Johnson, West Virginia’s Zach Frazier and Georgia’s Sedrick Van Pran may all be able to start right away, or at least take over early on once they’ve gotten their feet wet. All three players are likely to go somewhere between the late-first and late-second round, which means the Steelers will probably have to use their top pick or work some sort of trade to acquire one. That’s an issue that will shake out in time, though.

For the moment, one thing we can discern is what Cole’s release says about the direction of the offense. With Arthur Smith on board as the team’s new coordinator, Pittsburgh seems intent on being a run-first unit with a physical identity. Smith’s offenses in Tennessee and Atlanta relied on dominant lines for their success. In his five years running those offenses between 2019-2023, his lines graded out in the top ten of PFF’s positional rankings each year. His units in Tennessee were particularly successful, finishing second and first, respectively. Smith preferred zone runs to gap runs with the Titans — he called 376 Inside and Outside Zone plays in 2019-2020 against just 129 gap-based Duo, Power and Counter runs — and was similarly zone-heavy in Atlanta. That marries up with the approach the Steelers have taken the past few seasons. Pittsburgh had 437 zone-based runs in 2022-2023 and 132 gap runs. The Steelers will be well-versed in Smith’s philosophy up front, then. The key to making the run game go won’t be an overhaul of the scheme but a revision of the players called upon to execute it. Jettisoning Cole is the first step in that overhaul.

The bad snaps and the money the Steelers saved by parting with Cole were certainly contributing factors in his release. But the bigger issue was his physicality. To run inside zone successfully, an offense has to control the A-gaps between the center and guards. That’s the sweet spot where inside zone wants to hit. Too often, Cole struggled to anchor that area. In the highlight clips below, the first two plays are both inside zone runs. Both hit for big gains, largely in part to some excellent running by Najee Harris. Watch Cole on these plays, though. On both, he gets knocked back by blows to the chest from the defensive tackle. Cole’s technique is bad, as he stands up too quickly and exposes his chest to contact. Over time, this was the issue I believe he tried to compensate for by getting his hands up faster, which compromised his snaps. The Steelers need a player who can snap, push and secure the A-gaps on their inside zone scheme. Cole is not that player.

Some Najee Harris highlights to bless your timeline pic.twitter.com/3z5CIlmRat

— SteelYinzer (@YinzerofSteel07) February 23, 2024

Cole also struggled on outside zone runs, where penetration is a killer. He was often unable to gain the proper position to keep defenders from disrupting these wide runs, or lacked the physical strength to move them effectively if he did. This toss play to Harris is a good example, as Cole can’t keep Arizona’s play-side tackle from penetrating and forcing an early cut back into the pursuit of the defense:

Just a couple plays before Kenny Pickett got hurt. Najee Harris just barely got tripped up over Mason Cole or this run could have been a touchdown.#Steelers pic.twitter.com/CPC46ylrGO

— Ross McCorkle (@Ross_McCorkle) December 4, 2023

(To be fair to Cole, James Daniels could have posted the tackle a hair longer before climbing to the backer. Still, this is a block a high-level NFL center should make).

Unless Smith intends to radically overhaul both his own philosophy and the philosophy the Steelers have adhered to the past few seasons, expect a steady diet of zone runs next season. That means whomever they choose to replace Cole will have to be powerful enough to secure the A-gaps and athletic enough to reach block and control defenders in the B and C-gaps. Powers-Johnson? Frazier? Van Pran? Maybe Herbig or Daniels? Let the debate begin.

In the end, releasing Cole was a necessary move for the Steelers to build the line they’ll need to make Smith’s run-heavy approach successful. It’s probably not the only move they’ll make up front, as upgrading the tackle position seems a no-brainer as well. Expect the new pieces on Pittsburgh’s line to be both physical and athletic, and for the unit as a whole to be an improved one in 2024.