PITTSBURGH — The Steelers will have both offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and play caller Mike Sullivan on the sideline, just like Matt Canada was before his dismissal.
That is no surprise, but Faulkner said the workflow will go similarly to how you would imagine. They will be next to each other and talk between series about how to attack the game next, and Sullivan will call the plays and be in quarterback Kenny Pickett’s ear.
“I’ll be right there close to Sully, you know what I mean? Like I said, he’s going to want to be locked into the game and seeing what he’s seeing and dial the plays up,” Faulkner said. “I don’t want to interfere with that. I wouldn’t want that to be the case for me. So we’ll be next to each other and have conversations in between series to map a plan forward and we’ll roll.”
Mike Tomlin does not want to change anything there. Primarily, they still have to coach running backs and the quarterbacks. So, that workflow will remain the same in that aspect. Pittsburgh is basically down one coach, and those guys have to coach those positions.
“Both will be on the sideline, which is where they’ve been,” Tomlin told Bob Labriola. “We’re not going to change perspective in terms of how they view the game just because they have expanded roles. I was just mentioning in-helmet perspective from a player’s standpoint, and since I want the best from those men, I’m not going to change the space in which they work on game day.”
Pittsburgh hopes they can find a spark on the offensive side of the ball. Faulkner believes that will lead to detailed football where guys are on the same page and they can play with rhythm. Tomlin wants to see that, and they hope it leads to a jump in Pickett’s play.