GM Kevin Colbert signs extension with Steelers through 2021 NFL Draft

When Kevin Colbert joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in February 2000, they were coming off 6-10 and 7-9 records, the first two losing seasons under coach Bill Cowher.

Over the next 20 years, from Cowher to Mike Tomlin and through a title change for Colbert, the Steelers have had just one more.

They have won two Super Bowls – one under each coach – and have enjoyed 15 winning seasons, 12 playoff berths and nine division titles under Colbert’s watch.

“Kevin Colbert revitalized my football career,” Cowher said recently after being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Sitting down with Kevin and being able to talk about doing things together, being able to talk about putting together a board of personnel for the draft. … It was really special. I know what he’s done for me. He was a guy I leaned on a lot. Every time I needed something, he was there.”

Colbert will continue to be with the organization for at least one more year. The Steelers announced Wednesday he signed a one-year contract extension that carries through the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Steelers typically announce contract extensions during training camp. But while Tomlin had his contract extended over the summer, Colbert said he preferred to go year-to-year with his contract at this stage of his career.

Colbert turned 63 in January, and his contract was scheduled to run out in May.

“Kevin continues to play a key role in our success and his dedication to our personnel efforts is unparalleled,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “We are pleased he will lead those efforts for at least one more year.”

A North Catholic graduate, Colbert was hired as director of football operations after his predecessor, Tom Donohoe, was let go following a power struggle with Cowher after the 1999 season. Colbert’s title was changed to vice president and general manager in 2011.

Tomlin has spent the past 13 seasons working with Colbert, and the Steelers have never finished worse than 8-8 in any of those years.

“He and I have both been at it a long time,” Tomlin said a few days after the 2019 season ended. “It’s realistic to say we have seen more days together than we are going to see. But I don’t analyze it any deeper than that. I look forward to getting back out there with him and continuing what it is we do.”

The Steelers, though, are in a similar situation as to when Colbert joined the organization, enduring back-to-back non-playoff seasons after a five-year run of making the postseason.

“It’s hard to quantify how fortunate I am to have been part of this organization for the last 20 years,” Colbert said in a statement. “I look forward to the challenge of getting our team back into playoff contention while never losing sight of our ultimate goal – winning a Super Bowl.”

Retaining Colbert maintains some stability in the front office. Samir Suleiman, one of Colbert’s top assistants, left in January to take a similar position with the Carolina Panthers.

Signing Colbert takes care of one of the franchise’s biggest offseason priorities. The Steelers will continue focusing on the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of the month, free agency in mid-March and the NFL Draft in late April.

“He’s such an integral part of that organization,” Cowher said. “He’s a Pittsburgher through and through.”