First Call: Reported 'power struggle' between Kyle Dubas, Mike Sullivan; theory on why Troy Fautanu fell to Steelers

Thursday’s “First Call” finds a reported sticking point between Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching staff.

Troy Fautanu’s agent has a theory on his client’s alleged knee red flags. The Steelers have their options when it comes to Najee Harris’ fifth-year option. Pressley Harvin III has a chance to latch on somewhere else. And former Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd is checking out some destinations in the AFC.

But Pittsburgh isn’t one of them.

Trouble in paradise?

From the day he was hired, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas threw his weight behind head coach Mike Sullivan, claiming he “has no expiration date.” Dubas has offered nothing but full support to the head coach despite mounting criticism of the two-time Stanley Cup winner.

But now we are hearing rumblings of the first rub between the two. On “The Daily Faceoff Live” on Tuesday, Frank Seravalli said that he is hearing there may be some static about what to do with some of Sullivan’s assistant coaches.

“My understanding is there’s a bit of a power struggle ongoing between Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan,” Seravalli said. “Kyle Dubas would like to make changes to the coaching staff in the assistants, and Mike Sullivan has been resistant (to) that.”

This shouldn’t be a surprise. Sullivan is known for his loyalty to people he trusts. He is also known for his unwithering stubbornness. Power play coach Todd Reirden’s unit was only successful 15.27% of the time. That ranked 30th in the NHL. That’s despite having the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and (for much of the year) Jake Guentzel on the unit.

Some of Mike Vellucci’s forwards, such as Malkin, Rickard Rakell and Reilly Smith, had frustrating seasons, to say nothing of inconsistent play from the bottom six all year.

So, Dubas has every right to want change. Then again, how much can either coach do with a handful of superstar veterans that are just going to do things their way regardless of coaching and some of the chicken scratch talent in the bottom six.

If Sullivan is pushing back, maybe that’s where some of the rumors about potential mutual interest between him and the New Jersey Devils are coming from.

More sports

• Penguins dismiss multiple business staffers
• Mark Madden: The Penguins need a head coach contingency plan
• Deadline looms for Steelers to pick up 5th-year option on RB Najee Harris

Time for Tyler?

The free-agent market appears to be heating up for Tyler Boyd. Teams that didn’t land a capable slot receiver in the first wave of free agency, or over last week’s seven-round NFL Draft, may now be willing to meet Boyd’s contract demands.

The former Pitt Panther was asking for $9 million per year at one point this offseason. That’s according to Adam Caplan of the Pro Football Network.

Now Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com says Boyd is taking a couple of visits to NFL teams — specifically the Los Angeles Chargers and the Tennessee Titans.

Free agent wide receiver Tyler Boyd was in Los Angeles this week to meet with the #Chargers and will also head to the #Titans later this week, per source,

Market should heat up for Boyd, who has 513 catches for 6,000 yards over eight seasons in Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/7bMUcM89KK

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 1, 2024

There were reports last month that the Clairton High School product got an offer from the Steelers, but it wasn’t enough to make him interested in a return to Western Pa.

Boyd has spent his entire eight-year career in Cincinnati. He has totaled exactly 6,000 receiving yards on 513 catches with 31 touchdowns.

Now that the Steelers have drafted Roman Wilson out of Michigan, like Boyd, he profiles as a slot receiver as well. If the Steelers are to sign a free-agent receiver, it’d likely be more of an outside-the-numbers, down-the-field threat.

Conspiracy afoot?

A commonly held theory as to why Troy Fautanu surprisingly slipped to the Steelers at pick No. 20 of the first round of the NFL Draft is that there was a late report of knee injury concerns.

Fautanu and the Steelers have insisted there is nothing to it. When KJR Radio host Dick Fain came on 105.9 The X with me on Friday, he and I joked that maybe the Steelers or someone else planted the rumor so that Fautanu would fall.

Now, appearing on Fain’s show in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler, Fautanu says his agent believes something like that is exactly what happened.

If not with the Steelers, specifically, then some other team deep in the first round.

“I talked to my agent, and he was saying that a team later in the draft might’ve leaked it to try and get me to fall,” Fautanu said. “The last time I dealt with (my knee) was in 2021. But I’ve never missed any games, never missed any practices due to it. So (the report) was kind of random.”

In the end, though, Fautanu doesn’t seem bitter because he likes the fit with the Steelers.

“If that hadn’t come out, maybe I wouldn’t be in Pittsburgh,” he said. “So I’m kind of happy everything did play out the way it was supposed to.”

What to do?

Sometime Thursday, the Steelers have to announce if they are going to pick up the fifth-year option on running back Najee Harris. Because Harris was a first-round pick, he can be guaranteed a salary for a fifth season heading into season No. 4.

That’s where Harris is now. That option would be a $6.79 million ticket for 2025. On Tuesday, ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio seemed a bit dubious of the Steelers’ willingness to pick it up.

“With Harris, it’s a tougher call,” Florio said on 93.7 The Fan. “Part of the psychology (is) ‘How do we get the most out of the player?’ … But once you extend it, it’s fully guaranteed. He’s getting that money no matter what. They might be tempted to not do it, just to see what they get out of him in a contract year.”

Florio is right in the sense that the prudent move is to never sign any running back to a fifth-year option because of injury risk and positional value. Since the rest of the league has embraced that mentality about running backs, though, their price tags are so deflated that a fifth-year option is a relatively minor expense.

For instance, this year Harris will make $4.1 million. That’s 1.6% of the salary cap according to OverTheCap.com. Alex Highsmith is about to count $6.7 million against this year’s cap. That’s only 2.6% before factoring in whatever increases happen for 2025.

That hardly seems exorbitant for a guy who, between rushes, catches and targets, had 293 plays called for him. He also scored eight of the team’s 29 total offensive touchdowns.

I don’t care so much about goosing Harris emotionally in 2024. To me, that’s an irrelevant point.

Where Florio is right is that there is no reason to put yourself on the hook for the money for 2025 now and risk injury when — since the market is so flat for running backs as it is — it’s not going to break your bank if you want to sign him to an extended deal that you can prorate after 2024 anyway. If Harris asks for too much, sign somebody else.

But if the Steelers do activate the fifth year just to keep him happy and have certainty for 2025, it’s not at all a back-breaker.

Pressley the punter

Pressley Harvin is getting a look in Florida. The ex-Steelers punter is heading to Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp on a veteran tryout. That’s according to Greg Auman of Fox Sports.

Bucs will have former Steelers punter Pressley Harvin III at their rookie minicamp next week as a tryout player. Harvin was Pittsburgh's punter the last three years, and if signed, would compete with Jake Camarda, who reset team's punt average record (50.1 yards) last season.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) May 1, 2024

Harvin was released by the Steelers in February after three years with the team. For the 2023 campaign, Harvin put 38% of his punts inside the 20. That was a career best. But his consistency remained a problem.

The Steelers signed Cameron Johnston away from the Houston Texans to replace Harvin.