| "Yes." Direct,
succinct and declarative, that is new Steelers offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride’s
speech pattern, as well as his offensive football philosophy. "Yes, I have a good
working relationship with Kordell (Stewart)."
A year after being discharged as San Diego’s head coach, Gilbride, 48, has been
brought in by Bill Cowher to rekindle an all-but-extinguished Steelers passing game. At
midseason of last year the Steelers were 5-2, only to lose seven of the last nine,
including the final five games in a row. That painful dry spell not only knocked the team
out of the postseason for the first time since Cowher took over in 1992, it also caused QB
Stewart to hit bottom. Stewart threw one TD during that stretch.
On the verge of superstardom after leading the Steelers to the AFC championship game in
his first year as a starting quarterback, Stewart’s TD production dwindled from 32 in
’97 to 13 in ’98. The team finished 29th in passing. Sales of his No.
10 jersey, formerly the Steelers’ best-selling item, plummeted.
Stewart felt the heat of the Three Rivers "Blast Furnace" after a 23-9 defeat
to New England provoked an irate fan to dump beer on the faltering QB. The following week
at Tampa, Stewart was yanked in the third quarter, and he demonstratively questioned
Cowher’s decision on the sideline.
Despite the horrendous year, the Steelers have given Stewart a whopping vote of
confidence to the tune of a $27 million contract extension that included an $8.1 million
signing bonus.
"I just think we need to restore Kordell’s confidence," said Gilbride.
"We’ve installed a plan, a program and as he learns, he will grow confident and
eliminate doubt. It will become instinctual."
In his defense, Stewart has become a victim of free agency, losing a starting wide
receiver in each of the last three seasons. This season Charles Johnson is gone. Enter Bob
Bratkowski, the new WR coach who had formerly run the offense for Seattle. In addition to
Gilbride’s 11 years of coaching, the offense now has a lot of play-calling
experience.
"If there is one thing, Kordell wants to be consistent," Gilbride said. That
comes as no surprise, considering he will be learning his third offense in four years.
Just what will this new offensive scheme look like?
TE Mark Bruener has labeled it the "Big Spread." It will be more open than
last year under Ray Sherman. Gilbride, who doesn’t waste words or plays, has a
reputation for knowing the shortest distance between two endzones is a straight line
— or pass. In the six years Gilbride has been an offensive coordinator in the NFL,
his passing game has been ranked No. 1 four times. He is credited with the development of
Warren Moon in Houston and, more recently, Mark Brunell in Jacksonville.
Look for the Steelers to utilize the tight end position more. With Sherman the tight
end left the field on third down. This should be good news to Bruener, one of the
best-kept secrets in the NFL. He is coming off a 19-catch season.
"We’ll use multiple personnel," Gilbride said. "A goal is always a
good balance of run and pass. But it’s all situational. It depends on the defenses
we’re seeing."
As for the big question of whether the versatile Stewart will return to his
‘Slash’ collection of positions, Gilbride assured, "No." |
