Steelers' Christian Kuntz, Alex Highsmith react to changes after hiring of Mike McCarthy

Shortly after Mike Tomlin stepped down as the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach following his 19th season in the job, Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz acknowledged that it was "a scary time" for people associated with the franchise. 

The Steelers have since moved on from multiple assistant coaches and have hired Mike McCarthy to serve as Tomlin's replacement. During the latest edition of his podcast, Kuntz touched upon "the hardest part" of the changes impacting the organization this winter. 

Why this offseason "sucks" for those within the Steelers

"It's a weird feeling," Kuntz explained, per Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. "You go in the building, and people are clearing out their offices, teary-eyed. It sucks. They're losing their jobs, livelihoods. People have been here for years. Families have moved here, and now they're not getting brought back." 

Steelers players who have only featured for the club under Tomlin aren't strangers to the franchise changing coordinators and assistants during offseasons. However, it's now clear that many within the organization weren't prepared for Tomlin to voluntarily walk away from the team following Pittsburgh's 30-6 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans.

As for Steelers edge-rusher Alex Highsmith, it appears he could soon be working under current Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Some Pittsburgh fans and local media members have made it known that they feel the team's McCarthy era is destined to be a failure, but Highsmith sent somewhat of a message to those doubters during the podcast episode. 

Alex Highsmith: Steelers, fans must "trust the process"

"I know it's gonna be different," Highsmith said about what's to come for the Steelers. "But I know that as you get a new coach, a new staff, you gotta buy into their culture and what they want to do. It's definitely been weird 'cause I've never been through this in the league. But this happened for a reason. We just gotta trust the process, as much as it sucks."

Steelers president Art Rooney II was ready to run it back with Tomlin even though the club lost the final seven playoff games of Tomlin's tenure and hasn't earned a postseason victory since January 2017. Tomlin wasn't interested in that offer, and the McCarthy-led Steelers are now under new management.