The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
RONALD WALL FROM SHADY VALLEY, TN: If a player is a free agent and a team places a franchise tag on him can he still sign with another team?
ANSWER: If a player receives the non-exclusive franchise tag, he can seek offers from other teams. If the player likes one of those offers, he can sign the offer sheet and present that to his former team. His former team then has 14 days to match that offer and keep the player, or decline to match the offer, at which time the player becomes the property of the new team and the old team receives 2 No. 1 picks from the new team as compensation.
BOB SUTTON FROM CRESSON, PA: I heard a lot of commentators this year saying that Omar Khan "failed" to go out and get a wide receiver in-season. Every year in the draft, the GM also seems to get all the praise or blame for the success of a draft, even though (I'm guessing) the head coach probably has major input on picks. Given that the GM position might operate differently from team to team in the NFL, could you shed any light on how much sole responsibility for draft picks and trades fall directly on a Steelers GM, and how much might actually be more of a team approach with the GM getting the praise/blame?
ANSWER: The Steelers GM has no sole responsibility for making draft picks or for making trades. The Steelers GM cannot make a unilateral decision to hire or fire the head coach. At the very least, all of those kinds of moves have to be run by President Art Rooney II, and before that those kinds of moves had to be run by Dan Rooney. And when the Steelers began the process of finding a replacement for Mike Tomlin in January, Rooney said, "I don't think I anticipate really changing our structure or chain of command. I expect the new head coach, like Bill Cowher, like Mike Tomlin, like Chuck Noll, will be very involved in preparing for the draft and working closely with Omar and his staff and making sure we're ready." That's the business model.
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JON EWIG FROM XENIA, OH: I'm not for tanking under any circumstances. That's not what serious fans/season ticket holders want in my opinion. But I'm in favor of handing the keys to the winner of a legitimate competition between Mason Rudolph and Will Howard and spending important draft/free agent capital on the rest of the roster. Rudolph might flourish. Howard knows what it's like to win. What say you?
ANSWER: Mason Rudolph's time in the NFL has shown him to be a capable backup QB, and Will Howard may know what it's like to win in college, but until Northwestern and Illinois are added to the AFC North or Howard at least makes it through an NFL preseason I'm not handing over the keys to anything. And I have serious doubts whether this Steelers Nation-wide love affair with Howard will survive his first multi-interception game. Or even his first multi-interception practice in pads at Saint Vincent College. My experience with Steelers fans is they don't have nearly the amount of patience as has been rumored in some of these submissions.
BOB STASKO FROM WEST PALM BEACH, FL I just found out that Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) was drafted by the Steelers but released in the preseason. Is there any preseason game footage of him out there, like maybe scoring 4 touchdowns in one game? Is there any information on his brief career in the black and gold?
ANSWER: Ed O'Neill's fictional career at Polk High School was much more star-studded than his actual career as a defensive lineman at Youngstown State. O'Neill was signed as an undrafted rookie by the Steelers after the 1969 NFL Draft, and after competing for a roster spot with rookies such as Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood he learned very quickly that professional football was not in his future. O'Neill was among a small group of players who was waived on July 21, and the Steelers first preseason game in 1969 was played on Aug. 16. O'Neill didn't even make it long enough to get to the preseason.
GREGORY EDGAR FROM STUDIO CITY, CA: A three-part question. 1. Do you go to the NFL Combine? 2. Where will you watch this year's draft? 3. Do you have a favorite player(s) the Steelers might draft at 21st overall?
ANSWER: 1. The last time I attended the NFL Combine was in 2020. 2. I will cover the 2026 NFL Draft from the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. 3. The Steelers don't have ANY IDEA yet who they might draft at No. 21 overall, so I certainly don't know more than they do.
BILL NEVRUZ FROM PARK RIDGE, IL: For me a really good offseason outcome is Aaron Rodgers returning for one more year, signing Malik Willis (perhaps over market value to get him to Pittsburgh as a backup), and Will Howard as the No. 3 QB. After this season I believe we have our starter for 2027. Thoughts?
ANSWER: Malik Willis is being projected to be one of the hot commodities of free agency, and I have trouble believing he would accept a situation where he is satisfied with coming out of free agency with a job as a backup. Also, if you're talking "over market value" that would mean a salary in excess of $20 million per season with a bunch of that total of the contract guaranteed. I don't see the Steelers committing that kind of money to a player who isn't going to be a starter by design in his first season with the team. I just don't see this as being a real possibility in any way.
PAT PALUMBO FROM WESTERVILLE, OH: I saw a question concerning the bye week for teams. What would you think of a division or conference taking the same week off? That way it would not interrupt the TV coverage and put teams on equal footing.
ANSWER: I do not understand this obsession with the perceived unfairness of the bye week. Do you have any idea of the number of instances of "unfairness" that exist in every team's regular season schedule? Monday night games. Sunday night games. Night games on the West Coast for teams from the East. Sunday at 1 p.m. games in the Eastern time zone for West Coast teams. Thursday night games. Christmas Day games. The Sunday night time slot for the regular season finale. There is a lot of inherent unfairness in a 17-game regular season schedule spread out over 18 weeks for 32 teams. Just accept it as part of the adversity that teams have to overcome as they compete for a championship. When the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII, their bye week was in mid-October; then they won Super Bowl XL, their bye week was in early October. In 2024, their bye week was after the eighth game – as perfectly in the middle of a season as possible – and they ended with 5 straight losses. In 2001, their bye week was the second week of the season, and coupled with the postponement of games related to 9-11, the Steelers played their opener and got smoked in Jacksonville, and then they didn't play again for 21 days. They went 13-2 from that point to finish 13-3.
MARK ATNIP FROM MOLINE, IN: How about let's build the Steelers with defense? DT Caleb Banks with pick No. 21, and then trade for DT Lee Hunter later in the first round. Then we can go offense. What do you think?
ANSWER: The Steelers used the 2025 NFL Draft to make a pretty significant investment in their defensive line, with Derrick Harmon as the No. 1 pick, and then they added Yahya Black in the fifth round. I don't think it's necessary to spend 2 No. 1 picks on the defensive line in this upcoming draft, and one thing you never mention is the cost of trading back up into the first round to pick Lee Hunter.
BILL CHIARAMONTE FROM ERIE, PA: Does Coach Mike McCarthy have his coaching staff completed? Can you list them?
ANSWER: Yes. They are listed below:
OFFENSE
Offensive Coordinator: Brian Angelichio
Quarterbacks: Tom Arth
Offensive Line: James Campen
Running Backs: Ramon Chinyoung Sr.
Wide Receivers: Adam Henry
Tight Ends: Robert Kugler
Senior Offensive Assistant: Frank Cignetti Jr.
Game Management/Quarterbacks: Tim Berbenich
Assistant Offensive Line: Jahri Evans
Offensive Quality Control: Eric Simonelli
DEFENSE
Defensive Coordinator: Patrick Graham
Assistant Head Coach/Secondary: Joe Whitt Jr.
Defensive Pass-Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs: Jason Simmons
Defensive Line: Domata Peko
Outside Linebackers: C.J. Ah You
Inside Linebackers: Scott McCurley
Defensive Assistant: Shawn Howe
Defensive Assistant: Pat Reilly
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Crossman
Senior Special Teams Assistant: Derius Swinton II
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
Head Strength & Conditioning: Mark Lovat
Director of Performance Integration/Sports Science: Grant Thorne
Strength and Conditioning Assistant: Justus Galac
Strength and Conditioning Assistant: Abe Munayer
Chief of Staff: Steve Scarnecchia
