When Mike Sullivan took over play calling duties for the Steelers in late November, the immediate results were good.
The Steelers rolled up a season-high 421 yards in Sullivan's first game calling plays, recording a 16-10 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati Nov. 26.
But the following week in a loss to the Cardinals, quarterback Kenny Pickett was injured at the end of the first half of a 24-10 loss.
Then, after losses to the Patriots and Colts, backup Mitch Trubisky was replaced by Mason Rudolph late in the team's game in Indianapolis, quarterbacking the team to a 34-11 win last week against the Bengals.
Five games. Three different quarterbacks.
It's not exactly how Sullivan, who also serves as the Steelers quarterbacks coach, might have drawn things up in his head. But his military background as a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, did prepare him to be light on his feet.
"I think part of preparation is to expect the unexpected," Sullivan said Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Hopefully things work out well, but having those contingency plans kind of goes back to my military background in terms of you're preparing for a mission. It really just reinforces the philosophy of just trying to make sure everyone makes the most of their opportunities, the mental reps and trying to make sure that everything in the meeting is detailed. And we do have very interactive meetings.
"I learned this a long time ago that a good quarterback room is a noisy room, meaning there's lots of communication, lots of dialogue, and there can be disagreements and agreements, just trying to come up with the best possible solution."
It's a good thing Sullivan has expected the unexpected, because that's what's happened.
The Steelers (8-7) head into Sunday's game at Seattle (8-7) preparing to give Rudolph his second start of the season as Pickett continues to work his way back from an ankle surgery he had Dec. 4 to help speed up his recovery process.
But Rudolph throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns in the team's win over the Bengals last week perhaps slowed some of the urgency to get Pickett back sooner rather than later. Pickett has continued to practice on a limited basis as he continues to work on his mobility,
Meanwhile, Sullivan and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner, who is serving as the team's interim offensive coordinator, and the rest of the staff draw up a game plan to try to best take advantage of Rudolph's skillset and beat the Seahawks.
"I'll go ahead and have my own private rankings of the place," Sullivan said. "The coaches will have the rankings, and then we'll have the quarterbacks. I think most teams will do this just to get a sense of what the likes and dislikes are. Sometimes, you can have five plays on a third down to 10, for example, and we'll talk about the rankings and hey, that five is as good as the one. Sometimes there's feedback to say, 'Hey, Sully, this is a five I'd make it a 10 If I can make it a 10.'
•Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
"So it really depends upon the individual's preference and certainly I think anytime you have a comfort level and a player that he really likes a concept or something that he sees, well, he feels a confidence in his ability to perform. It'd be foolish to ignore that. So we take all those factors in consideration and have a lot of dialogue communication again, amongst the coaches, and with all the quarterbacks to give the best possible play call."
It's a lot of moving parts, especially with different quarterbacks either in the game or based off availability.
But Sullivan has experience making those judgments. He's previously been an offensive coordinator and play caller for the Buccaneers and Giants.
It helps that the Steelers' quarterback room all support each other, regardless of who is playing.
"I think the entire room has been a group that's been together for two years now, and regardless of who's taken the snaps I've been really pleased with how much those guys respect one another, how much they like one another, and most importantly, how much they support one another," Sullivan said. "Mason had his opportunity. He prepared well, and fortunately it worked out well for us to put us in a position for a great game at Seattle. We're really looking forward to this week."
