The Pittsburgh Steelers enter the offseason in need of a new offensive coordinator. This was known since Matt Canada’s dismissal midseason, but was reinforced the organization will be looking outside the organization when Mike Tomlin said just that in his season-ending press conference last Thursday.

Fans are excited, and also anxious, to hear who the Steelers tab as the next man in charge of the offense, but it also begs the question if other coordinators should be relieved of their duties as well.

Let’s start with defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Austin’s defense was hit hard by the injury bug this season, but most would say the unit under-performed by most metrics. You can’t ignore the fact Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander were all lost for significant length of time throughout the season. Is this an excuse? Absolutely, but many have questioned if Austin is the man for the job moving forward, if a fresh set of eyes, and principles, might be what the defense needs to regain their Top 10 form fans have become accustomed to seeing.

The next coordinator to consider might be looking for a new position after the season would be special teams coordinator Danny Smith. Smith is the long-time special teams coordinator, and his units have typically performed well by most standards. He’s been fortunate to have players like Chris Boswell kicking, and Miles Killebrew to block potential kicks. Nonetheless, you have to wonder about the struggles he has had at the punter position and if that comes down to coaching or execution.

Pressley Harvin III isn’t the only punter who has struggled in Smith’s system. Jordan Berry before Harvin also struggled with consistency, and it makes you wonder if the coaching staff is asking these punters to perform in a way which is difficult to obtain the consistency fans desire as the position. That might be a hard sell for the majority of people who have watched punters repeatedly shank punts throughout their time in Pittsburgh.

Shaking things up happens every offseason for every NFL organization. Coaches have their contracts renewed, and others are told they won’t have a job there the next season. While shaking things up is certainly acceptable, completely rebuilding the coaching staff is a tall order which seems unnecessary for the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers.

When you consider the amount of turnover which is expected on the offensive side of the ball, from a coaching perspective, you want to have some levels of consistency at other levels. This isn’t to suggest no defensive and special teams coaches will be fired, but the Steelers have always thrived on consistency and continuity.

There is a good chance there is a complete offensive overhaul of the offensive coaching staff this offseason once they make the move at the coordinator position, and, to me, it seems unlikely they’ll experience the same overhaul on defense and special teams. In other words, I see the team running it back with Austin and Smith as the defensive and special teams coordinators.

What do you think? Should the team move on from either coordinator? Will they make the move? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason.