Pittsburgh Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin unmoved by change in leadership dynamic-NFL News
The departure of some veteran players from Pittsburgh Steelers as a result of the austerity drive has not pleased the head coach, Mike Tomlin, yet the official said he remains unconcerned about the change in the leadership dynamic.
Soon after coming out of the 2011 National Football League (NFL) season, the management showed intentions of overhauling the squad to sort out the salary overspending issue.
The team initiated a cleansing drive to save on the players’ salaries expense to keep it within the cap level, and highly paid veterans were seen the most likely targets.
True to the fears, the management released a few of them and redid deals of many more to achieve its goal.
Some of the players who have been made redundant include veteran Hines Ward, James Farrior and Antonio Smith, while Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison are amongst those who have been retained on revised deals.
Steelers’ coach said that all of those players have been making good plays during all the past years and it was sad to see them leaving the side.
He noted:
"These guys have made a lot of plays for us. They've provided great leadership. They've been significant members of teams that have been very successful. As human beings, we all feel that and acknowledge that. When it comes to making the decision, it has
to be football-based, with the building of the team moving forward."
At the same time, the official also said that he was looking forward to working with the new guys who could be equally impressive and could make good plays.
Tomlin added that he would like to call the process a transition and was not much concerned about the change in the leadership dynamic.
He said:
“I would refer to it as a leadership transition .The plays are going to be made, the leadership is going to be provided, and there's a certain uncomfortable element of that because the reality is that it's going to come from someplace new."
Steelers want to save the amount of around $20 to $30 million, which they are spending over their salary cap, $120 million a year.
The notable retainee of the team is Mike Wallace and his extension came only after some other players were let go and contracts of a few were redone.
Tomlin had earlier hinted at such measures, but denied that any specific player was on the hit list of the team.
Hiring-firing was the first step that the management has taken after end of the last season. After creating the required space on the salary roster, the team is said to be interested in brining back some of their free agency players.
A final decision to that end is still in waiting.
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