PITTSBURGH — Kyle Dubas' plan has occasionally been difficult to decipher, the Penguins' president of hockey operations toggling between urgency and patience when describing what exactly he's trying to do, but it's hard to get too upset over any of it.

One, the needle Dubas is trying to thread — retooling on the fly, managing some lousy contracts (a few that he's absolutely responsible for) — is tight.

The Penguins are also doing something refreshing in professional sports, especially around here.

They've acknowledged that while Mike Sullivan might be an excellent coach — and he is — he's probably not the right one for them.

They're also doing their best to chart a clear direction: no mushy middle, plus roster decisions made for a specific purpose.

There's no denying this has become Dubas' team, and maybe that works out. Seems we'll find out in 2026-27, though I still believe the Penguins could surprise us next season, provided they hire the right successor to Sullivan.

(By the way, no retreads, please. Big fan of Rick Tocchet, but he's not the right guy here. Way more into the University of Denver's David Carle or anyone in the mold of Capitals coach Spencer Carbery, a Dubas link to his time in Toronto.)

There's also understandable skepticism based on what Dubas did with Erik Karlsson, Tristan Jarry and Ryan Graves, though I think he was playing a part or feeling like he had to placate people.

That Band-Aid was ripped off this past season.

It might be uncomfortable. Dubas knew it might agitate or disappoint, but the Sullivan decision was made with the long-term best interest of the Penguins in mind.

Crazy concept, huh?

Over at the Steelers, we've seen a frustrating resistance to that sort of thing. Art Rooney II seemingly isn't interested in moving on from Mike Tomlin because of the comfort blanket the coach provides. People around the NFL love him. Players really respect him. He's — stop me if you've heard this one — never had a losing season.

The wild part: None of that is wrong.

People around here are obviously frustrated with Tomlin. I hear it all the time — nothing matters until the head coach changes. Don't know if I agree with that assessment, but it also doesn't matter.

As Dubas said, two things can be true.

There's no denying Tomlin has an impressive passion for football. He connects with players. He doesn't always make the most sensible on-field calls, and plenty of his coaching hires are suspect, but it's a tough argument to say he's a bad coach.

The guy could retire tomorrow, and he'll almost assuredly wind up in Canton, Ohio. At the same time, that doesn't mean he gets a free pass from now until retirement, and he's the first one to admit that.

More is always expected, and especially here. It's possible, the same as Sullivan, that Tomlin can be an upper-echelon coach but for things to simply have run their course.

The Rooneys aren't going to change for 2025. However, if there's no actual improvement this upcoming season, I don't know how you believe things will be different given the number of routes the Steelers will have taken to 9-8 or 10-7 and zero playoff success.

That's why I don't hate what Dubas did by acknowledging the nuance in a situation and saying (through his actions) that Sullivan might be a very good coach, just not the right one.

It feels like the George Costanza it's-not-you-it's-me routine. But, hey, whatever it takes to net something coherent.

It sure beats the head-in-sand stubbornness that we've seen with the Steelers or whatever you want to call the situation over at PNC Park.

Yeah, that.

Bob Nutting hasn't been shy about addressing the franchise's off-field missteps, but the lousy baseball has remained.

Why? What results has Nutting seen over the past six years to justify continuing down this same path, especially the way the Pirates have started this season?

One argument could be sample size, although we're more than a fifth of the way into the season. That's not enough after a repeat 76-win campaign in '24 that came five years after an entire regime took charge?

Criticize Dubas all you want for trading for Karlsson, extending Jarry and thinking Graves would be a smart free agent acquisition. Dubas was wrong. Those guys haven't worked out, and Dubas must figure out a way this summer to untangle the knot.

But once again, I'll give Dubas this: He admitted that the Jarry extension was a mistake and took the blame for it. He's also acknowledged the problems that have followed the two defensemen here.

Dubas has resisted complacency and wasn't afraid to pivot when his initial, plug-and-unplug sort of effort with the Penguins didn't work.

Troubleshooting led him to another place, and that has meant accumulating assets and skewing younger, which the Penguins have tried to do over the past few years.

It hasn't been easy. It also doesn't mean things will work out. But it's at least a discernible direction and an admission — even if it might be difficult or awkward — that there could be a better way to operate.

We haven't seen enough of that around here.

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