Colin Cowherd's Hypocritical Thoughts On The Steelers Are Truly Baffling After A 2023 Summer Of Back And Forth

It has been an eventful 2023 offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Free agency was an aggressive time period and proved that General Manager, Omar Khan is not afraid to go outside of the organization to get reinforcements, but he also stayed true to the franchise's values, rewarding Alex Highsmith with a long-term contract extension. The front office brought in veteran, Patrick Peterson and had what looks to be, on paper, one of the best drafts out of any team in the league. Several moves made by teams throughout the NFL offseason are always subject to analysis, compliments and criticism from media pundits.

It comes to the point where certain members of the media need to be called out for certain nonsense that occurs throughout the offseason. Colin Cowherd is an extremely popular and often-listened to radio host and has a show called The Herd. He has been actively talking about Pittsburgh throughout the offseason, but the issue to many Steelers fans should be the hypocrisy and inconsistency in his thoughts regarding the team since the end of the 2022 season.

In the beginning of June, Cowherd, ripped into several teams throughout the NFL regarding their approach to building rosters. He blatantly ignored the massive shift in offensive line personnel over the last two offseasons for Pittsburgh and blamed Head Coach, Mike Tomlin's defensive-minded approach and style.

"[The Bills] can't fix their [offensive] line. Neither can Pittsburgh. What do they have in common? A defensive coach," Cowherd said on his show.

His criticism continued when he brought up other teams that focus on spending money more so on the defensive side of the ball. Cowherd clearly isn't a fan of how they build rosters.

"Do you know the four teams in the NFL that lead the league in spending money on their defensive side? [Los Angeles] Chargers, [Seattle] Seahawks, Bills, Steelers. All four defensive coaches."

Another important comment to bring up that he ignored was the age of the Steelers' offense. There are several guys on rookie contracts and the team has dropped millions of dollars on several offensive linemen over the past two years or so. No one should aggressively spend money in an area where they don't have to, especially with a rising quarterback still on a rookie contract.

Cowherd wasn't done on this topic and just weeks later brought up the Bills and Steelers again. He pointed directly to the offensive line and reiterated his thoughts from early June.

"My whole question with them is the same as Buffalo. Can you get the offensive line right?"

In a shocking turn of events, he went on to say not to long after that the Steelers will have absolutely no holes on their roster as long as Broderick Jones performs at left tackle. There was no mention of any other offensive lineman. It made it seem like he was a little more confident than he was letting on. He was highly complimentary of quarterback, Kenny Pickett after committing to the opinion that the second-year quarterback probably won't be a star earlier in the 2023 offseason.

"I'm fired up for Kenny Pickett. I gotta be honest with ya, for a rookie, he was pretty poised. He is poised, he is more refined than your typical rookie. Absolutely a franchise quarterback. I'm interested in the Steelers. If the left tackle [Broderick Jones] can play, where aren't they good? They have no holes."

Cowherd was talking to his audience in a show not too long after and gushed over how the Steelers have built their roster. This is, yes, after he ripped the approach into pieces earlier in the summer because of Tomlin's defensive mind.

“I will argue all day, [the Steelers] have a top-five roster in the NFL,” Cowherd said. “I think their roster is loaded except for corner. I like it everywhere. I think their O-line could be an OC problem, not a talent problem.”

He even admitted that the offensive line wasn't an issue to him, but Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada may hold them back. All of the comments above were made just within weeks of each other which is the most surprising part of it all. He called the roster loaded after ripping into the roster-building approach and strategy of spending money in certain areas.

If you thought that was the end of Cowherd's back and forth, inconsistent commentary about the Steelers during the 2023 offseason, think again. His most recent comment was criticizing the roster and lack of spending on offense after calling the team in general a Top 5 unit in the league. He compared Pittsburgh directly to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“The key to all of this stuff is staying current. The Chiefs are third in offensive spending, near the bottom of the NFL on defense. Both rosters are very good. They're viewed as creative, progressive, and clever...move off players quickly, especially on the defensive side if they're not named Chris Jones. For five years, [the Steelers] can't figure out their offensive line or running game."

Inconsistent Opinions On The Steelers Aren't A Good Look For Cowherd

He has a point in the fact that the offensive line and running game has been very inconsistent in recent memory, but the sheer nerve of complimenting the roster and team twice in the same offseason and then completely flip flopping from that opinion multiple times is just simply bad media. It's irresponsible to change your mind that many different times in the matter of a few months.

Some may not give a darn about what Cowherd has to say about the Steelers and that's a fair opinion to have. He is, however, an extremely prominent media figure who should be held accountable when his takes are as inconsistent and go back and forth as much as they have been. You better believe if Pittsburgh surprises people early in 2023, he will be the first to claim he said he liked the team all offseason, but we have the receipts.

Do you think it's extremely hypocritical for Cowherd to switch up his opinions so much in such a short amount of time? Let us know in the comments below!

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