That would explain why no one from the organization has been available to answer questions about the team's transition from Dick LeBeau to Keith Butler as defensive coordinator.
Both aspects of that switch have been handled with statements from the team rather than an actual news conference.
In a town where the annual shaving of Brett Keisel's beard is a media event worthy of leading the 11 o'clock news, anything Steelers-related is pretty big. So the exit of a long-time coach with Hall of Fame credentials qualifies as significant in the context of football.
Yet the Steelers have chosen to go all Kremlin and restrict comment to statements issued from the bunker.
Here's what happened: LeBeau wanted to come back. The Steelers didn't want him to. Awkward. LeBeau apparently wasn't interested in considering a role other than defensive coordinator.
So they announced the split as a resignation, which is technically correct. It's less messy that the fundamentally dishonest way they handled Bruce Arians' departure as offensive coordinator a few years ago.
If LeBeau wanted to leave without comment, that's fine. If the Steelers wanted to refrain from saying much about his departure, that's probably OK, too. It was a touchy issue.
But there's no excuse for not making Butler available. There are a lot of relevant questions that could be directed to him and Mike Tomlin, given that defense was the Steelers' weakness in an otherwise-successful 2014 season.
The Steelers usually aren't media shy. They buff their image regularly with photo ops that connect them to community and charitable endeavors. They invite cameras when they're reading to kids or helping to buy winter coats or distributing holiday turkeys. The TV stations show up like sheep for everything.
So it might be fair to expect the Steelers to be available when the news isn't as self-serving. Tomlin held a news conference to wrap up the season, but said he couldn't comment much on players or coaches because he hadn't spoken to them yet. They got the obligation out of the way without really offering much.
It wasn't always this way. Chuck Noll was no fan of media scrutiny, but he didn't create obstructions. Former GM Tom Donahoe loved to poke his head in the media room at Three Rivers to snarl about the slightest perceived inaccuracy, but he also understood the symbiotic nature of the relationship.
It seems incredible in today's environment, but in the 1970s the Steelers would compile a list of the players' home addresses and phone numbers and distribute it to the media. It was done with the understanding that the contact information was to be used a last resort, only after efforts to reach a player through regular channels had failed.
That couldn't happen now. The team understandably wouldn't have that level of trust, especially in a world where the list could instantly show up on the Internet.
But there's still no good reason why the coach can't take some basic questions when he hires a new coordinator.
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--NO BIG DEAL
Yikes, Pedro Alvarez did not attend Pirates mini-camp in Florida last week.
On the giant list of reasons to worry about the Pirates, that doesn't even make the top 100.
Mini-camp is a waste of time, a staff-created cure for cabin fever. Nothing important happens. Alvarez will have six weeks of spring training to work on his recovery from a bad season. Four days in January wasn't going to make a difference in his adjustment from third base to first.
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--MIXED MESSAGE
The 10:35 Nightly Sports Call on the KDKA-TV's stepchild CW station is currently between sponsors. So in keeping with the low-budget theme of the show, the previous sponsor's name has been deleted with a bold black line.
Looks like they're mourning rather than hunting a new underwriter.
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--TOUGH CHOICE
There was controversy in last week's Ravens-Patriots playoff game because New England exploited a loophole in the rule about linemen being eligible receivers.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh protested, but what Bill Belichick did was legal. He just a found a way to cause confusion, which is what smart coaches do.
You can debate the interpretation of the rule, but here's the bigger question: Which side do you feel comfortable taking in a dispute between Harbaugh and Belichick?
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