Steelers news: Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert announces shocking upcoming resignation

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in flux as their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has retired. Now, their GM Kevin Colbert will be leaving.

The Pittsburgh Steelers organization is entering a period they have not seen in a long time. Earlier this week, Ben Roethlisberger announced he is retiring from football. He has been Pittsburgh's quarterback since 2004. On Friday, it was announced that Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert will also be leaving the organization.

BREAKING: Steelers GM Kevin Colbert is stepping down after the draft, per Art Rooney II.

Team will conduct a search for a new GM immediately, but likely won’t make the hire until after the draft. They have already interviewed two in-house candidates: Brandon Hunt and Omar Khan.

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) January 28, 2022

Team President Art Rooney II acknowledged that Colbert is stepping down after the 2022 NFL Draft. The organization will conduct their search for his replacement immediately, but will likely not make a hire until after the draft. This news broke a couple of weeks ago, but now it has been made official.

Colbert was the Steelers Director of Operation from 2000 to 2010. In 2010, he took the general manager role with Pittsburgh. Then in 2016, he became the Vice President and general manager. Part of the reason for his ascension is simply, he is great at his job.

The Steelers organization have long been known as one of the more stable NFL franchises. But over the last couple decades, they take a back seat to no one when it comes building through the NFL Draft. Whether it's wide receivers, offensive and defensive lineman, or their secondary, they typically are among the best at hitting.

Colbert is largely credited with putting together the teams that won Super Bowls XL and XLIII in 2005 and 2008 respectively.

So, this offseason will look very different than recent years. They will undoubtedly look to bring in some competition for Mason Rudolph at quarterback. Colbert will have one last chance to set the team up for future success in April.

The organization has already interviewed internal candidates Brandon Hunt and Omar Khan. But they will certainly expand that search in the coming weeks.