Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy is not resistant to change. Sometimes that's borne out of his own desire to try something new, but on other occasions, it's out of necessity.
The move of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham from the coaches' box to the sideline was a hunch that was easy enough to try out in Sunday's 34-22 win over the Colts. McCarthy has put plenty of thought into staff responsibilities, going back to the preseason, and felt a sense of urgency in that regard.
"Communication is, obviously, very important. Frankly, I thought the network of communication was what it needed to be yesterday on the defensive [phone] lines, from my interaction," McCarthy said Monday. "I've called games from the sideline. It's easier to call from the box. But the direct communication with the players, to me, has always been most important. We tried it the other way, and this is what it needs to look like, in my opinion."
Any coaching staff has the option of approaching game day both ways. The Steelers don't have the luxury of picking and choosing who fits into their passing game at the moment.
Not with receivers Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek out for this week at Tampa Bay, according to McCarthy, on top of veteran Michael Pittman Jr. landing on the reserve/injured list. But the Steelers have rookie second-rounder Germie Bernard accelerating each day.
From the meeting rooms to the walk-throughs to full-speed practices, Bernard has been "smooth" in McCarthy's view. Still, making it happen in live action is the final step, and Bernard did just that in Week 5 with six catches for 80 yards.
"Football comes easy to him," McCarthy said. "I think there's some young-guy mistakes he made yesterday, but you can see it coming. I think he's acclimated very well to the offense, the ability to play all three positions — he sticks his nose in there in the run game, too. I've been very, very impressed."
Surely, there also will be more opportunities for the likes of practice squad receivers Brandon Smith, Isaiah Hodgins and Brandon Johnson. Smith got the first crack at it Sunday, after being with the team in training camp and performing well in that setting.
But when a team has this many health concerns at one position, the next game feels like a long way away. McCarthy first needs to figure out who will show where in practice Wednesday, considering the Steelers defense needs to line up against a Buccaneers scout team.
"Those are conversations that are going on," McCarthy said. "I've known [Smith] a long time. He's earned this opportunity. We definitely feel very good about Brandon moving forward, so he'll definitely get more opportunities."
McCarthy also entered this season expecting to have a shared backfield between two productive veteran rushers in Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. The latter arrived in Pittsburgh fresh off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, but the former is on pace for 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
Make no mistake, McCarthy isn't running away from the way Warren is running. McCarthy acknowledged that Dowdle looked good Friday and Saturday as he recovers from his toe injury, but Warren has taken off in his absence.
"Jaylen's our featured player right now," McCarthy said. "I mean, let's make sure we all recognize that. He's hot. He's playing great football for us. So it's important for us, as an offense, coaches and players alike, to continue to put him in position to make plays. That won't change."
McCarthy was asked about safety DeShon Elliott, who remains on the reserve/injured list but in the midst of his 21-day practice window to return to the active roster, and noted that his status will depend on how much he's able to do in practice this week. Elliott will have a plan determined for him by Wednesday, and the work he does will give McCarthy a better idea of the return-to-play process.
