Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (12.26.25)
Opening Statement:
“Okay, good Friday out there. Got a little bit of the weather which was good, might have some weather on Sunday. Division opponent, excited about playing a team we know well. Looking forward to the opportunity. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
I was just out there watching practice and saw Harold (Fannin Jr.) out there catching a couple balls right in front of us. So, what happened to Harold today?
“Just had something come up, and sometimes injuries happen on a Friday, and you just got to see how it progresses to Sunday.”
Do you feel like he might be able to play or do you have any vibe on that?
“I don’t. I think with all players, you let them rehab and their body will tell you, but he’ll do everything he can to be out there.”
Is that the same thing for Dillon (Gabriel)? Something popped up today?
“Yeah, soreness popped up.”
Kevin (Stefanski), with Dylan Sampson and the nature of his injury, what will be the determining factor if he can go to Sunday or not?
“Function. The ability to function with that. He feels good, looked good in practice, but we’ll make a determination here as we get to Sunday.”
Harold’s such a big, huge part of your game plan, and Shedeur (Sanders) obviously loves throwing the ball to him. So, if he can’t go, what will that mean to you guys?
“Yeah, I think with any injury potential, you always prepare, as coaches, a game plan where there’s different guys that can step up into different roles. And sometimes it’s a player at that same position, sometimes it’s a player in a different position. You can pivot into different personnel groupings, and that happens in game as well. So, you always have to have those contingency plans.”
We also saw Myles Harden go in, I think he’s on the injury report as well. I know you probably don’t know if he’s going to be able to play yet on Sunday, but what would the contingency plan be for that slot cornerback?
“Yeah, a bunch of options. Guys that we played with that we trust in there. Obviously, Myles has done a nice job for us all season. If he couldn’t make it, we feel good about the guys that we have behind him.”
How did Denzel (Ward) look this week?
“Yeah, looked good. I think he feels good. Ready to roll.”
With the (Pittsburgh) Steelers having the chance to clinch Saturday night, depending on what happens in that Ravens game. Have you guys prepared for if they decide to rest guys?
“No.”
With the uncertainty around Dillon Gabriel, will you guys have to elevate Bailey Zappe either way?
“I’d say that’s likely, yes.”
What about Wyatt (Teller) again? What’s going to determine that, and like last week, could it be an option to split series with Teven (Jenkins)?
“Yeah, I think potentially. Needed to obviously get through today’s practice, see how he’s feeling and make those types of determinations. But feel good about if he’s in there, I think he’ll be ready to roll and feel good about Teven as well.”
What makes the Pittsburgh run defense historically so good? I think, again this year, they’ve had some really good numbers.
“Yeah, good scheme. It’s one of those things…their scheme is very different than our scheme, defensively, and both work when you coach it really well, when you have the players that fit the scheme. So that’s the example of a good scheme, a good two-gapping scheme with players that match that scheme. They obviously have gone up against different run attacks throughout the years, and whether it’s zones or more downhill stuff. I think it’s a sound scheme that really lets their players play to their strengths.”
Kevin, what about David Njoku and just having him out again?
“Yeah, obviously that’s a guy that has played really good football for us, so we’ll see when we can get him back out there.”
Do you have any idea when he might?
“I don’t.”
With Wyatt being questionable again, do you anticipate a rotation if he can play?
“Yes.”
Do you put much time or thought into whether or not T.J. Watt will be able to play in this game?
“You know, we don’t control those types of things, Mary Kay (Cabot). Obviously, he’s a great player, and we as competitors always want to see those types of guys out there. I have a ton of respect for him, but really not our focus.”
Kevin, what about the Steelers passing offense? Obviously, everyone knows they won’t have DK Metcalf out there. What does it look like without him?
“I think they have a lot of guys that can make plays with the football, whether it’s running backs out of the backfield, receivers that the quarterback trusts, a bunch of tight ends that they can throw at you, that can really play to all levels of the field. I mean, think about how they utilize their tight ends in different roles. So obviously DK is a great player, and again, we talked about him on Wednesday. I have a ton of respect for what he does, and he played great the first time we played them, but I think they have a bunch of different options in the pass game.”
Is there any player comp to Darnell Washington? I mean, you coached tight ends for a long time. Like, 311 is way bigger.
“Trying to come up with a good one for you.”
Jason Peters just played tackle in the pros, right?
“Yeah right, he was a former tight end. You know, biggest tight end that I’ve probably been around was Pharaoh Brown. Pharaoh was a great blocker, great hands. This is a very powerful player, and I think the thing that’s most impressive is the YAC with the ability with the ball in his hand. He’s tough to bring down, he’s got good ball skills, and then when he has that ball in his hands, you better swarm the football.”
In terms of you guys heading into your final home game of the season, how important is it for you guys to want to close it out strong?
“Very important. We love playing in front of our fans. Obviously got another one next week on the road, but an opportunity in front of our fans, we relish these opportunities.”
Kevin, going back to that Steelers defense and how unique it is, you don’t see this type of front as often. How hard is that for a guy like Luke (Wypler), going against them for the first time?
“I think these different fronts that you go up against, and some are even fronts like ours, and three technique strong. Sometimes they’re nose guards that cover the center, sometimes they’re in a two-eye on the guard, and then you go up against the zero nose in some of these three-four teams. So, there are teams where they may show you all of those looks in a given game. So, for a center, the ability to play with somebody over you, with somebody on the guard, the ability to work with the guards versus these different fronts is really important. I think it’s good for a young player like Luke to have all these opportunities and these reps versus different fronts, and they all pose unique challenges, especially when you start to talk about the size of some of the players.”
Aside from winning Sunday, how important is it to help Myles (Garrett) get that sack record?
“Yeah, like we’ve talked about the whole time, I think you guys have talked to Myles throughout this season – winning is the most important thing to him. That’s what he’s about, that’s what we’re about, that’s why we’re working so hard. Having said that, the individual records and accolades and all those types of things that happen for our players, we want all of those things for our guys. It’s the greatest team sport there is, but these individual things highlight the individual, but they also highlight the individual within the framework of team. So, I know what’s important to Myles. I know what’s important to this football team.”
Aaron (Rodgers), obviously one of the fastest to get rid of the football. How can you go against that?
“Yeah, the ball comes out at a very fast clip. Whether it’s RPOs or their quick game, you’re not going to fool him. Obviously, a player of his caliber who’s seen so much defense, he’s a player that, at times you’re watching tape and he’s one step ahead of the defense, just beating them with his mind. But the ability to diagnose and see things and get the ball out I just think is a representative of his just processing power and how he’s able to see things from a defense so quickly.”
The other day, that clip where he motions the guy out and he just says ‘go deep’ or whatever he tells him. How rare is that? And I’m sure it feels like it used to be something more common, but in today’s NFL, do you see that a lot, where they just do that on the fly?
“Yeah, I think something happens in every game. There’s always situations that feel where there’s the ability of the quarterback to make adjustments for players. Certainly with again, a player who’s seen a lot of defense and been in a lot of those situations, you trust that he’s making the right decisions for these guys.”
Myles was talking about Josh (Allen), specifically last week, was rolling away from him, going away. Obviously, they’re going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at him in terms of blockers. But are you noticing teams trying to go specifically away, rolling away from him, running away from him?
“Yes. Yeah, I think a lot of teams go into it with a plan of one-waying plays and say ‘hey, we’re not going to run this if he’s over there’. There have been times that I’ve been surprised that teams have run certain plays at him, but it may be a situation where play-to-play, not knowing where he’s going to be can factor into that. But certainly, teams one-way things to keep them away from him.”
Has that increased as the season’s gone on or has that just been from start to now?
“Yeah, I think from the beginning of his life, probably.”
Have you been able this week to sort of anticipate just what they’re offense is going to look like without DK? You talked about Darnell (Washington) being a big part of that, but, like, that entire tight end group and how they’re going to utilize those guys?
“Arthur (Smith) does a great job with that group, and I think they have a lot of options. You lose a great player, of course, you’re going to need other guys to step up. I think they have other guys that can play different roles for them, I do.”
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