Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert gets 2-year extension

The Steelers have had a busy preseason — giving a new contract to Alejandro Villanueva, trading for Vance McDonald, signing Joe Haden and engaging in negotiations with Stephon Tuitt.

On Thursday, the team announced it was extending the contract of the man who's overseeing it all.

General manager Kevin Colbert and the Steelers agreed to a two-year contract extension that runs through at least the 2020 NFL Draft.

The deal adds two years onto the tenure of Colbert, a Pittsburgh native who has been at the head of the Steelers personnel department since 2000.

“I have been very fortunate to have been a part of this organization over the last 17 years,” Colbert said in a team-released statement. “I am very thankful for the opportunity to continue to be a part of our annual pursuit of a championship.”

An alumnus of North Catholic High School and Robert Morris, the 60-year-old Colbert has helped guide the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances and Super Bowl titles after the 2005 and '08 seasons.

They've had only one losing season during his tenure, and the 17 drafts he had overseen heading into the one this past April had produced 16 players who combined for 39 Pro Bowl honors and five who've been named first-team All-Pro at least once. He oversaw the Steelers trading up in 2003 for future Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu and watched over a 2010 draft that has produced two All-Pros and three Pro Bowlers.

Colbert is certainly not without his draft missteps (second-rounders taken under him, for example, have included the likes of Alonzo Jackson, Ricardo Colclough and Limas Sweed) or botched free-agent signings (think Sean Mahan, Ladarius Green). But he has yet to completely swing and miss with the most important annual draft pick: each of the Steelers' first rounders in Colbert's tenure have been multiyear starters for the team.

Colbert also signed five players as free agents who made at least one Pro Bowl, none of which had made the Pro Bowl before signing with the Steelers.

“Kevin's dedication and diligent work have played a major role in our success,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “We are pleased he will continue to lead our personnel efforts for at least the next three years.”

Despite Colbert's title atop the Steelers' personnel hierarchy, he generally keeps a low profile. That, in part, explains why he has maintained a good relationship with the two men who have served as the Steelers coach during his tenure, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin.

“Coach Tomlin is a very easy gentleman to work with,” Colbert said. “I think we see a lot of things in very similar ways. I can give him an older viewpoint, and he can give me a younger viewpoint. It's kind of a nice complementary trait for both of us.

“We don't always agree, but we respect each other's opinions, and we're able to work through any differences we have.”

Colbert's predecessor, Tom Donahoe, also had a successful résumé — but he clashed with Cowher, and that contributed to his ultimate undoing in Pittsburgh. Colbert rarely speaks publicly outside of the draft and other league functions — and when he does, he frequently credits Tomlin for team successes and describes personnel moves as team decisions.

“We have a level of respect, and that's why I think we've been able to do it together for so long,” Tomlin told the Tribune-Review in an interview last year.

Colbert's bio fills about one-half of one of the 500-plus pages comprising the Steelers' official media guide. It reads for 282 words — less than that of two of his subordinates, the head athletic trainer and each of the team's 13 assistant coaches.

Not once in 38 pages of official game notes the Steelers supply is Colbert even mentioned.

Colbert spent 10 seasons as the pro scouting director for the Detroit Lions prior to being hired by the Steelers. Initially, his title was director of football operations; now it's vice president and general manager.”

Earlier this month, the Steelers announced an extension of Tomlin's contract, also for two years and also until 2020.

This is the second consecutive extension of two years for Colbert, the most recent coming during the 2015 training camp. He received four- and five-year extensions prior to that in 2006 and '10, respectively.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.

Correction

Anthony Smith was a third-round pick. This story incorrectly stated what round he was drafted in.