You ask. I answer. It’s time for a weekly Q&A mailbag that appears Tuesdays at TribLive.com. We had a banner Week 1 that’ll be tough to top. But that’s why we lift all them weights. Most of the questions come via “X,” but you can also hit me up jraystarkey@gmail.com. Let’s go …
Buckeye_Dahn_Tahn, @bobbyero: Why is it that no one seems to think Will Howard can be developed into a starting NFL QB? You can’t use the worn-out cliche, “Well he was picked in the sixth round.” We have never seen him take an NFL snap.
Starkey: Well, he was picked in the sixth round, Dr. Tahn.
Listen, I’m curious about Howard, just like you — but this thing has careened out of control. I have never seen a quarterback taken this low in the draft get this much hype before he ever took a snap. And I completely disagree with your assessment that “no one” thinks Howard can be a starter. Half the fan base does.
Apparently, Mike McCarthy does, too, assuming he didn’t lie in his interview here like he did in Dallas (and who among us hasn’t lied in a job interview?).
Steelers president Art Rooney II sure seems high on Howard, to the point where Howard has unbelievably become a central talking point amid the coaching change.
This is what Art told the team website: “(McCarthy) likes Will Howard, thinks Will has tremendous upside and is looking forward to working with him.”
Then this: “I think Mike was very comfortable with the quarterback room and the possibilities with the quarterback room. In particular, the fact we have a young quarterback on the roster in whom he sees some upside.”
Very comfortable with the quarterback room? The current quarterback room has Mason Rudolph and Will Howard in it! That would make me very uncomfortable if my immediate mandate was to win playoff games.
I’d be thinking, “We better find a quarterback.”
And that’s not to say Howard has no chance. He could be the extremely rare sixth-rounder to flourish, a la Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck or Marc Bulger. But is that a good bet? And why is this a central talking point at the moment?
Here are some quarterbacks the Steelers have drafted higher than Howard since 2000: Josh Dobbs, Brian St. Pierre, Landry Jones, Dennis Dixon, Omar Jacobs and Tee Martin.
Imagine if the team owner told reporters, “Our new coach can’t wait to get started with Omar Jacobs. Sees tons of upside there.” Or, “This Chris Oladokun guy (taken one round below Howard) has the coach’s attention. Really intrigued by him.”
I get it. Howard won a national championship. So did Josh Heupel, Ken Dorsey, Craig Krenzel, Matt Mauck, Matt Leinart, Chris Leak, Matt Flynn, Tim Tebow (twice), Greg McElroy, A.J. McCarron, Stetson Bennett (twice), Jake Coker and Cardale Jones.
And that’s just since 2000.
J, @Crossland895: Salutations Joe, I’m going to avoid the obvious questions and ask you to play a little game: Please rank the Steelers coaches (Noll-McCarthy) in order based on who inherited the best situation. First being the best situation, and fourth being the worst. Thank you good sir.
Starkey: Mike Tomlin walked into the best situation by a million miles, Dr. 895. In fact, he walked into one of the greatest new-coach situations in NFL history: Hall-of-Fame quarterback in his 20s; defense stocked with star talent; still-in-its-prime roster just a year removed from a Super Bowl title; legendary defensive coordinator (Dick LeBeau); HOF GM (Kevin Colbert), etc.
Yes, the Steelers were 8-8 the year before Tomlin arrived, but that was because Roethlisberger had a near-fatal motorcycle accident, an appendectomy and a concussion and posted easily the worst season of his career, the only one with more interceptions than touchdowns.
Noll obviously inherited the worst situation — a franchise that had never won a playoff game and had almost no talent.
Cowher and McCarthy are about even. Cowher low-key inherited a talented team that included the likes of Dermontti Dawson, Rod Woodson, Barry Foster, Greg Lloyd, Carnell Lake, etc.
McCarthy has a young core that includes Troy Fautanu, Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton, Joey Porter Jr., Zach Frazier, etc. It’s not like the Steelers are bereft of talent. They need a quarterback.
Oh wait, I forgot: They have Will Howard.
Richard Snodgrass, @richsnodgrass64: Joe, what are your thoughts on the Steelers bringing back Pickett? New coach, new staff, fresh start. I say it’s time for him to finally get a fair chance, thanks
Starkey: I’m going to assume you’re joking, Dr. Snodgrass.
You are joking, right?
Nolan in New Ken, @nolan_in_NK: Hiya, Joe, should Bob (Pompeani) use his connections to get Ron Cook back onto “The Nightly Sports Call/Sports Showdown?”
Starkey: Hahahahaha. I think so, yes.
Largie Condios, @waywaylarge: Chances of (%):
Konnor Griffin starts the season in Pittsburgh?
Malkin plays next year for Penguins?
McCarthy is coaching Steelers in four years?
Skenes is pitching for Pirates in three years?
1 — 40%
2 — 90%
3 — 75%
4 — 30%
Disco Dave, @D1scoDave: If the Pens make the playoffs, who would you want to play in the first round?
Starkey: Anybody. I’d just be amazed they made it back to the playoffs this quickly, Dr. Disco. But if you’re going to make me pick, of course I’ll say the Flyers. What a spectacle that would be — and the Penguins have won the past two meetings by a combined score of 11-4.
SaintRoch, @MellowedOne: Mister S, Andrew McCutchen doesn’t seem very happy that the Pirates haven’t reached out to him. When do you think they will buckle and sign him to a one year deal?
Starkey: That’s Dr. S to you, Dr. One, and I just wrote about this the other day. I don’t think the Pirates are going to sign him. I do think they should tell him as much.
Taylor, @Taylor72815844: Are the Steelers at the third generation stage of a family business? First gen. — went through the sewer to build a champion. Second — saw the first build it and had a hand in its success. Third — given the keys to the business by the second and can’t keep up with times to sustain success.
Starkey: Some would say they have been successful, Dr. 72815844. I think not coming close to winning a playoff game for nearly a decade is unsuccessful. I’m thinking you have a point here.
Skip Bittman, @skip_bittman: It is especially galling that New England is going to another Super Bowl while the Steelers are on a treadmill of mediocrity. People have said the last few years the Chiefs were the new Patriots. Are the Patriots going to be the new Chiefs?
Starkey: This is what I do know, Dr. Bittman: The Patriots are going to have a chance to win it all for many years because of Drake Maye. I said it the day after the Steelers beat them in New England: I’d rather be the Patriots, because they have a quarterback.
I don’t think they’ll be the new Chiefs, though. Kansas City had one of the great conference dynasties of all-time, going to seven straight AFC title games and winning five of them. That is ludicrous.
That Guy, @Baron_Scicluna: Is the reaction to the Steelers new head coaching hire confirmation that there was more lead in Pittsburgh’s water than first realized?
Starkey: I take that to mean you’re a fan of the hire, Dr. Guy. Please explain.
Rod and Danielle Schuchman, @RjSchuchman: Hey, How bout those Pens!?
Starkey: How about those Pens, Dr. Rod? You can read about them in my latest columns:
• Evgeni Malkin deserves one more year
Joey Bag of Donuts, @joeybagovdonuts: Why was John Harbaugh considered the hottest coaching candidate and McCarthy trash when they have almost the same exact resume?
Starkey: Fair question, Dr. Donuts, though I’m not sure many people consider McCarthy “trash.” They’re just not big fans of the hire and the process by which it came about.
I think part of the answer here relates to the situation each man is entering. The Giants are broken (although they have won a playoff game more recently than the Steelers). Harbaugh is seen as the savior. The Steelers are running in place. McCarthy is seen as an extension of that.
Also, Harbaugh has won three playoff games since 2020. McCarthy has won only a single playoff game in his past seven years.
Chris Barron, @ChrisRBarron: So I was 100% wrong about being enthusiastic about the process and candidates for head coach. Given how wrong I was and how flawed the process was in hiring McCarthy, should I have ANY hope it will be any different in hiring OC or DC? Thanks Dr Starkey.
Starkey: No, thank YOU, Dr. Barron. Actually, McCarthy has a pretty good track record hiring assistant coaches. I think you might be pleased with his staff.
Matt Choate, @mattchoate: Dr Starkey, I’m at my limit of Steelers HC and QB talk so firing a question about a team still playing and in talks as being a legit team. Kyle Dubas has built a roster that can compete without jettisoning team legends. Potentially one of best jobs by GM in PGH history?
Starkey: It’s trending in that direction, Dr. Choate. Simply remarkable. And it began with pushing out Sully and hiring Dan Muse.
Ryan Chepkevich, @oofoof8: How many wins will the Pirates get this year? I’m thinking 75. Let’s go Pirates.
Starkey: Well, the Vegas over-under I keep seeing is 76.5, which is pretty low if you ask me, Dr. C — and you just did.
I’m going to say 85, which would have been good enough for a wild card last season. But don’t hold me to that. We haven’t even seen spring training yet. We haven’t seen if and when Griffin will arrive. There could be more moves.
BTW, did you remember that the Reds made the playoffs last season? I didn’t. They got in with 83 wins. They got outscored by the Dodgers, 18-9, in two games, but they did get in.
Burghie, @houseofburgh412: Mike McCarthy didn’t coach last year. On one side you can say he got to watch games from all 32 teams and pick up new ideas, on the other you could say he might be rusty. Which do you tend to agree with more?
Starkey: I’ll go with the first one, Dr. Burghie. I don’t think he’s rusty. I also don’t think he’s too old. He’s 62. Sean Payton, also 62, just went to the AFC title game. Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and Andy Reid were all winning big games well into their 60s.
Donald Hilenbrant, @Hildebeest24: Hi, Joe. I dislike the hire. First and foremost. But, do you think this would have been received more favorably if we weren’t hearing about the Rams guys coming in all along? I feel part of the disappointment was no one preparing for a McCarthy hire until very late.
Starkey: You raise a good point, Dr. H. They only interviewed three men in person. That’s it? It took 12 days to find a new coach? I guess McCarthy must have told Omar and Art what they wanted to hear — you guys have a great roster, you’re close, I can get you over the top, I love Will Howard, etc.
It seems Omar identified McCarthy as his guy very early in the process and the instant the Steelers satisfied the Rooney rule, they hired him — without even going back to the Rams candidates for an in-person interview. It seemed rushed.
IamJingles, @jingles90: Package TJ and a third this year for someone’s first next, then package both first for next year to move up to the top of the draft to get your QB? And since there isn’t a Tomlin press conference on Tuesday, will Bob come to work on Tuesday?
Starkey: I think the time has passed where you’re getting a first for T.J. Watt, Dr. 90, but I’d still trade him. And no, of course Bob will not be at work today. McCarthy’s introductory news conference is at 2 p.m.
anthony ardestani, @AArdestani247: Professor Starkey, what year will the Steelers make their next Super Bowl appearance?
Starkey: 2041.
Ronald Bilak, @BilakRonald: Jonnu Smith, Jalen Ramsey, how bad does the original trade for Fitzpatrick look now? Let alone his trade back.
Starkey: I thought Ramsey was good for parts of the season, pretty bad in others. I might move on from him. Jonnu Smith was a disaster in his first year here. The trade doesn’t look great. I’ll give you that, Dr. B.
We part ways on the original Fitzpatrick trade, however. I know the Steelers might have positioned themselves to draft Justin Herbert. But probably not. They still would have stumbled into seven wins. And Fitzpatrick was a really, really good player in his early years here.
Did you know he was named first-team All-Pro three times? That’s pretty rare in Steelers history. That is more first-team All-Pros than the likes of L.C. Greenwood, Maurkice Pouncey, Mel Blount and James Harrison.
Burke O’Toole, @BurkeMan513: Dr. Starkey if you were to build a Mt. Rushmore of Pittsburgh athletes, let’s call it Mt. Washington in this case, who would be on your Mt. (Rushmore) Washington of Pittsburgh athletes?
Starkey: Clemente, Lemieux, Greene and Crosby. Honorable mention: Jerry DiPaola.
Gooseheimer2023, @gooseheime83054: Greetings Doctor Starkey. Who in Pittsburgh’s sports history would be most likely to help shovel your car out in a snowstorm?
Starkey: Marc-Andre “Flurry,” of course. And he probably would have.
Thank you for asking, Goose.