Where Do We Go From Here?
Steelers forced to look ahead to '07
By Jerry DiPaola

OK, can we end this talk about the Steelers finding a high draft choice out of the rubble of this season?

Fans who believe it is their birthright to have a winning team in town are under the misguided notion that the team might as well lose the rest of their games so they can pick in the top 10 next April.

Although it's true that Ben Roethlisberger and Plaxico Burress were selected in drafts immediately after non-playoff seasons, the 1998 disaster turned into Troy Edwards.

And it's not like the team's scouting department and coaches need a high pick to successfully reload their roster through the draft.

In the six Bill Cowher drafts that followed the Steelers' AFC Championship game appearances-the surest way there is to pick at or near the bottom of the first round-the team selected five solid players in the first round and even found a couple gems in the second.

They include tight end Mark Bruener and quarterback Kordell Stewart (1995), Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca (1998), starting right guard Kendall Simmons and wide receiver/punt returner Antwaan Randle El (2002), tight end Heath Miller and cornerback Bryant McFadden (2005) and wide receiver Santonio Holmes (2006).

OK, Jamain Stephens (1996) is the exception.

But you get the picture.

For several reasons, Cowher is not going to play the rest of the season as if the games don't matter. Chief among his thought process is that the games do matter. A team cannot treat regular-season games like exhibitions or training-camp scrimmages with an eye to playing younger and inferior players. It's not good for locker-room morale among the players that you plan on keeping, and it's not good for the integrity of the game or your organization's standing in the eyes of other teams.

And-as noted by the Steelers' ability to find good players at almost every level of the draft-it's not necessary.

Of course, this year there is an additional reason for playing and coaching with passion through the 16th game:

Cowher doesn't want his final season in Pittsburgh to be a losing one. He has worked too hard to build an illustrious career that includes two Super Bowls, one championship, a 12-9 record in 10 postseasons, a glowing resume and lasting legacy befitting one of the game's greatest all-time coaches.

And he's going to risk that reputation so his successor can pick 10th instead of 15th next year? Don't bet on it.

That's assuming Cowher quits after the 2006 season as it appears he wants to do.

The evolution of the end of Cowher's career probably started with what the Rooney family considered some unreasonable contract demands from Cowher's agent. But what should they have expected after winning a Super Bowl? Everything in this world comes at a price.

That turned into a contract impasse - an amiable one, for sure, but an impasses nonetheless. Cowher is signed only through the 2007 season, and team chairman Dan Rooney and his son president Art II want nothing to do with a lame-duck coach next season, even one they respect as much as Cowher.

The Steelers want stability in their organization after advancing to six Super Bowls and winning five of them by employing only two head coaches since 1969.

So, the Rooneys will force Cowher's hand and ask him to take their extension offer or resign. The latter won't sound so bad to Cowher, who probably wants to take some time off, enjoy his family in North Carolina and return to the NFL (but not to the Steelers) in 2008 or 2009. A case can be made that he has taken the Pittsburgh franchise as far as he can take it. Only 17 NFL of 32 NFL teams have won Super Bowls and the Steelers are one of them.

Next? That's a good question, and one not easily answered. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line and assistant head coach Russ Grimm appear to be solid candidates - smart guys, good motivators, with long and successful NFL resumes who are well-liked and respected within the Steelers organization and around the league.

But the Rooneys certainly have a list of other candidates tucked in a drawer somewhere. By the way, if Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey - a former Steelers offensive coordinator and Dallas Cowboys head coach - isn't on it, he should be. Plus, at least one minority (New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, perhaps) will be interviewed.

The process of selecting Cowher's replacement will be thorough, if brief, and officials will swiftly get on with the business of rebuilding a playoff contender before the end of January.

At that point, many tough decisions must be made, including the future of some veteran players who are going to count millions against the salary cap next year.

Among them:

-- Does the team want to put up with outside linebacker Joey Porter's occasional bursts of pass-rush energy and almost constant streams of embarrassing pregame trash talk when he is due to count more than $6.6 million against the cap?

-- Isn't it time for 34-year-old center Jeff Hartings to retire, especially after earning $4.75 million this year in what has not been the best season of his distinguished 11-year NFL career?

-- Where are they going to find the money to re-sign Pro Bowl strong safety Troy Polamalu, defensive end Aaron Smith and right outside linebacker Clark Haggans this year or next? All three are big parts of the defense and are signed only through 2007.

-- Faneca's contract expires at the same time. How many of those four can the team afford to sign, and how many can they afford to lose?

But those are questions of the type that every team must wrestle with in the offseason. The Steelers are no different. Their roster is good enough to contend for a playoff spot right now. It doesn't need a lot of repair.

The immediate future depends in no small part on how this season ends. A strong finish would bolster the mindset that the Steelers can be a good team, if they put their minds to it. Clearly, early in the season, the Steelers believed they would win and didn't do much more than that to make it happen.

On the other hand, a poor finish might cause a wholesale overhaul, especially under the guidance of a new coach, and too much tinkering might be counter-productive.

With Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Holmes, Hines Ward, Marvel Smith, Miller, McFadden, Aaron Smith, Haggans and Polamalu, the Steelers have the initial ingredients for success.

It hasn't been a good season, but not every one can turn out the way 2005 did.

The Steelers will be back, and the biggest change you will see may be on the sideline.