The Pittsburgh Steelers ended the 2024 season on a rough note, losing five consecutive games (including an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs). It is clear the Steelers are unable to compete with the top teams in the AFC currently, and that is backed up by the fact that they have failed to advance in the playoffs since the 2016 season. The fan base is desperate for consequential changes on the coaching staff, but comments to begin the 2025 offseason from some of the decision makers have been less than inspiring.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin and Russell Wilson on the sideline during a game against the New York Jets in 2024.
Some prominent figures on Pittsburgh's coaching staff have been scrutinized by the fans throughout the end of the 2024 season. This includes Head Coach Mike Tomlin, Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin, and Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. Tomlin already addressed the media after the season ended, and he shared that wholesale changes will not be made. He did state that some changes may occur, as some coaches are on expiring contracts.
Art Rooney II, the President of the organization, spoke to the local media on Monday about the future of the team. He touched on a few big picture things, but he also stated that wholesale coaching changes won't be made.
#Steelers Art Rooney said he expects there to be changes on the coaching staff (wouldn't be wholesale, but changes)
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) January 27, 2025
It is clear that the Steelers actually do need wholesale changes. The team has been stuck in NFL-purgatory for almost a decade. No playoff wins since the 2016 season has driven the fan base mad, yet none of the necessary changes have been made. It is hard to believe that anything will change about the outcome of some of these seasons without a complete overhaul of the coaching staff.
Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin ahead of a 2024 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tomlin is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the NFL as he consistently keeps his teams in the playoff conversation, but that is no longer enough. Not only do the Steelers lose in the first round of the playoffs each year recently, they get embarrassed. In most postseason games, it seems like there is no hope that Pittsburgh advances.
The Steelers need to change their philosophy in how they build the roster and they plan to play the games. It is clear they want to be a run-first offense, but the execution hasn't been there in quite some time. The team has the highest paid defense in the NFL, yet the group consistently underperforms.
In order to change the philosophy of the team and become an actual threat in the AFC, wholesale changes are needed. At times it feels as if the Steelers are a decade or two behind the rest of the league, and their winning formula is no longer viable. The organization needs to fix the quarterback situation, but Rooney also needs to consider altering the coaching staff if he plans on seeing success anytime soon.
AP Photo
Steelers Team President Art Rooney II and Head Coach Mike Tomlin oversee practice during the 2021 minicamp in Pittsburgh.
Steelers Are Stuck In NFL Purgatory
Tomlin is respected for his streak of 18 consecutive non-losing seasons, but at a certain point, that feat needs to be seen as a detriment. Now that the Steelers need a franchise quarterback, their constant middle of the pack finishes put them in horrible position during the offseasons. They are never in a space to land a franchise-altering quarterback, barring some sort of dramatic move.
It is not impossible. The Kansas City Chiefs had a winning season and then traded up 17 spots in the 2017 NFL Draft to land Patrick Mahomes, but that is the type of move that is hard to imagine the Steelers making. Until Tomlin parts ways with the organization, or the coach decides to change his philosophy, the Steelers will likely continue to be stuck in the same cycle.
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