I would like to know/maybe see an article or SOMETHING that supports this generally accepted supposition that Tomlin ran the drafts early in his tenure and now Colbert is running them. It flies in the face of all logic to assume that a first-time head coach walked into the Steelers facility and was given total control of the drafts in lieu of an experienced GM. Then, when the coach has some experience under his belt, take control from him and give it to the GM. If that's the case, then the Rooneys are all senile and need to sell the team.
I doubt it's written anywhere as official. Steelers keep that stuff in house and never answer when asked, always just saying the draft is a team effort. But every team has a leader.
Here's what I believe.
It's completely logical that Tomlin would have the power. You have to remember Colbert didn't even have the label of GM until recently. That's because he wasn't a traditional GM with Cowher,
It all goes back to the Troy Edwards draft pick over Javon Kearse. Cowher flipped out over that and told the Rooneys it was him or Tom Donahoe. They chose Cowher and Donahoe was gone.
Cowher then gained pretty much all the power for the steelers. Colbert was brought over from the Lions to run the scouting department but it was clear that Cowher had the most say in draft picks and free agents. Colbert did the administrative work, coordinating all the scouting reports, etc. Kahn did the contracts. Cowher was then making the decisions based on the information.
Tomlin took over after Cowher surprisingly retired. It is safe to assume that the same set up endured. Tomlin as head coach was given the most say in the decisions. When you look at how the types of players the steelers drafted changed pretty dramatically as soon as Tomlin arrived, it backs up this theory.
Under Cowher, i would put together draft lists and they almost never drafted a guy i didn't have on my short list until the late rounds when you take shots on guys. Even in late rounds, i was rarely surprised by the names called. I found one of my old notebooks and for Aaron Smith i simply wrote "perfect 3-4 DE, this guy will be a steeler". Of course there were busts. Alonzo Jackson was a bust but he also fit exactly what the steelers looked for at 3-4 OLB. I knew he'd be on steeler boards.
This isn't about me claiming to be some draft guru. It's just stating that it was easy to pick out the exact traits the steelers wanted under Cowher, so going through prospects, it was easy to put together a short list at each position based on that criteria.
Tomlin took over and it changed immediately. I had no idea who they liked. They were picking guys i barely considered. I remember hearing Timmons would be the pick. For weeks it was reported as fact. I always thought it was a smokescreen. I looked at Timmons and he was not a fit at all for the 3-4 so even right up to the podium, i thought it was a fake. I was shocked when Timmons was the pick.
Over the next few drafts, i did catch on, now the criteria was looking for guys who fit the Tampa 2 or had a high motor. I started having a more accurate draft list although I didn't like many of the names on my list.
I believe that Jarvis Jones was kind of a last straw, I remember even on this board, many of us were against the Jarvis pick before it was made. His measurables were a joke, he had medical flags, was already 24 (i believe), and almost all his college sacks were hustle plays where the QB held the ball forever. He had a high motor!
The next year, the steelers criteria seemed to change again. More analytics, drafting by SPARQ scores. You get a guy like Shazier.
I believe the most recent shift is likely the result of Colbert being given more control of the draft after years of disappointing drafts where I think Tomlin had most of the say.
This is me on the outside reading the tea leaves. It's not some agenda against Tomlin. It just seems logical from what we can see from the outside and Colbert now holding the title of GM.
