The Pittsburgh Steelers have been dealing with a ton of criticism from Steeler Nation recently. The blame game has been flying around for years now, with fans pointing fingers at anyone they can. Some say that they can't execute plays because it's all the players' fault. Others point towards Mike Tomlin and/or his coaching staff for failing to prepare for teams and make adjustments. Lastly, there is a group of people that hold Art Rooney II accountable for being complacent and cheap. Some rough news came out recently to support the latter group's theories.
NFL.com
If it's needed, Steelers owner Art Rooney II could step in and fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada, something that has been done in the past.
On 102.5 WDVE's postgame show, Charlie Batch answered fans' questions and received one of why Tomlin won't fire his coaches. While no one wanted to hear his answer, it seems that the fans' worst fears are being realized.
"If you've ever been around the Rooney family, they're not going to fire a guy and let him collect a check"
While player contracts are rarely fully guaranteed, coaching contracts are always fully guaranteed. Even if you fire a coach, you have to pay him whatever you agreed upon, as the Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly losing $85 million for cleaning house in recent weeks. With contracts like that, it would make sense why teams wouldn't want to fire coaches.
KDKA News
Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch and owner Art Rooney II at the groundbreaking for Best of the Batch's new building.
However, with the Steelers, they never gave out six-year contracts worth $10 million per year. While the contracts of the Steelers coaches aren't released, it's safe to say that it would not cost them nearly as much money to do what needs to be done.
Steelers Refuse To Spend A Dime
The Rooneys are way too cheap to fix the team. Firing Matt Canada would be a mere drop in the bucket for their net worth, but why spend money to fix your team? Every dollar saved is more important than the quality of the team. It's the same reason why guys like Randy Fichtner and Keith Butler were allowed to stay for as long as they did.
This is why Steeler Nation has been irate with ownership. As opposed to continuing the proud Steelers culture, the Rooneys are contempt with mimicking Bob Nutting and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Canada reportedly has his contract expire at season's end, but those extra few hundred thousand dollars is way too precious to be burnt.
AP Photo
Steelers Team President Art Rooney II and Head Coach Mike Tomlin oversee practice during the 2021 minicamp in Pittsburgh.
This is not a new occurrence for the Steelers, as the team is near the bottom in players' belief of their owner spending money, according to the NFLPA. Everything but training staff and food received a problematic grade via the NFLPA report card. The team lacks faith in their owner to fix things, and batch gave everyone more reasons to not trust Rooney.
If Rooney is truly as unwilling to fix the team and fire terrible coaches as it seems, he should give up ownership. The ideal route is to find someone like Dan Rooney to run this team: an owner who will do whatever is needed to lead the team to the Super Bowl and will do so successfully. If no one in the family is willing or able to do that, selling the team might be on the table to save the Steelers' future.
No matter what happens, everything falls on Rooney. Tomlin's alleged "playing down to competition" issue, Canada's predictable play-calling, the team's unwillingness to adjust, and the problematic product on the field all falls on Rooney. Being Bob Nutting is now how you run a successful football team. If this stretch continues, Steeler Nation might become as apathetic as Pirates fans. As an owner, apathy is much worse than anger. Anger shows that the fans still care.
What do you think of Batch calling out Rooney on the radio, as well as Rooney's unwillingness to spend money on many things? Let us know in the comments.
#SteelerNation.
