Steelers' Darnell Washington Discusses Significant Culture Shift With New Accountability System

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering a new era of football in the Steel City. Now we are heading full force into the Mike McCarthy regime with a lot of new changes. Of course, this includes several other new assistant coaches in the organization as a part of his staff. His offensive background will also be a different look for Pittsburgh football, which should be refreshing to watch for fans every Sunday moving forward.

On top of that, there seems to be a culture shift growing under McCarthy's staff too. There's many ways a team can go about holding players accountable and it can often be tricky with egos and playing at such a high level. The Steelers are holding players accountable early in the season with a strict diet. They need players to maintain their weights, or else they will be fined.

Star tight end Darnell Washington recently spoke out about this system on the Not Just Football podcast. He is a player who has a lot of attention about his weight, being an extra offensive lineman at times on the field, while also running routes and catching passes. Washington is such a unique player, but if he loses too much weight, or even gains too much, his value will drop. Pittsburgh knows this and they have been very strict with him on where his weight needs to be.

When talking about where his weight was entering the league, Washington started discussing how it was a struggle to keep the same weight consistently. His first snap in his career, he was around 290 lbs., but then he shot up to 315. 

"I love food," Washington said. "Everybody has got an addiction. Mine is video games and food. That's something I've for sure got to work on, especially with the new staff and the new weight fines this year. For sure, got to work on that and get down."

Fining players when they aren't at the correct weight is a very bold way to keep players where the organization wants them at. To enhance the production on the field, this could be a very strong way to make sure everybody is doing their part and keeping themselves in peak condition. Using Washington for example, the organization needs him the most for run blocking and pass protection. They cannot afford for him to lose weight and take a step back with his elite blocking ability. At the same time, the organization cannot allow him to gain too much to the point where he slows down and isn't as valuable in the passing game. Getting too big could slow him down.

It's good to see the organization taking steps to making sure these guys are doing what they need to be doing off the field. That accountability could play dividends this season, making all the players buy into this team.

In terms of players buying into this franchise, they have locked in a handful of key players this offseason. Washington is one that headlines that group. Players want a payday, but they also want to win, so signing these deals and staying with Pittsburgh amid a new coaching shift is a positive sign for what's to come with this new generation of Pittsburgh football.

Steelers' Darnell Washington Could Be The Key To Overall Team Success

This could be a very underrated aspect as to why the Steelers start to have success down the road. This new structure of weight fines and accountability are key factors towards building a positive culture. With a solid culture, players not only want to stay long-term, but they build strong chemistry.

 Washington is embracing this new shift head on and it could be something that leads Pittsburgh to its first playoff win in nearly a decade.

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