Rick Spielman Could Land as GM for Storied Franchise
Dustin Baker
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are conducting one of the most exhaustive searches in the history of sports for a new general manager.
Kevin Colbert, the boss in Pittsburgh for 20 years, stepped down after the 2021 season. His departure coincided with the retirement of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a magnificent passer for 18 years. Evidently, Colbert believed the Steelers need a clean slate all over the place to produce in the future.
So the Steelers cast a wide net for replacement — one that snagged former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman this weekend.
Spielman signed a multiyear extension with the Vikings in 2020. But when the product grew stale in 2020 and 2021 — the team filed a combined record of 15-18 (.455) with no playoff trips in two seasons — Minnesota’s ownership took to the ax, firing Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer in January.
The Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as Spielman’s successor and Kevin O’Connell as head coach, an anti-Spielman-Zimmer twosome according to philosophy and age. Although, through one week of free agency, it doesn’t really feel like Spielman left.
Regardless, Spielman has a puncher’s chance to land the Steelers job, despite the litany of suitors. Indeed, fans grew sour on Spielman — and everything else — after two losing seasons. Yet, on the whole, Spielman was a diligent, effective general manager compared to his peers.
His gaffes? Drafting Christian Ponder, refusing to fix the pass-protection woes of the offensive line, and ill-fated trades involving Yannick Ngakoue and Chris Herndon. He was also the man, though, who drafted Stefon Diggs, Danielle Hunter, Eric Kendricks, Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and an unearthed Adam Thielen from backwoodsy Minnesota lore.
Spielman was a part of the Vikings front office since 2006, arriving in Minnesota from Miami during life-after-Culpepper. With Spielman “in the room” since 2006, the Vikings ranked as the NFL’s 12th-best franchise per win percentage.
If hired in Pittsburgh, he’d inherit a plan to start Mitchell Trubisky at QB1, a man from the Chicago Bears that Spielman is undoubtedly privy. Too, Spielman or the next person could draft a quarterback like Malik Willis in April to pair with Trubsiky as competition.
It’s odd the Steelers navigated free agency sans a general manager, but a new executive should be tapped by the draft, which occurs on April 28th.
The Vikings beat the Steelers in a topsy-turvy Thursday night game three months ago — Spielman’s final home primetime win as an employee of the Vikings.
Spielman is 59.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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