Few, if any, organizations in the National Football League are as synonymous with the notion of “tradition” as the Pittsburgh Steelers. This, in recent years, is to me as much a media creation as anything actually proffered by the team itself, but old habits die hard. The salient points – three coaches in 55 years, four Super Bowl victories in six years in the 1970s, another should’ve been three in five years in the 2000s (merely two in practice), 21 consecutive non-losing seasons and counting, five consecutive playoff losses and counting – have been dusted off and recited so often they’ve since been reduced to lazy shorthand, and though the think pieces still practically write themselves, there’s much more to be distilled and dissected than is immediately evident. The longtime Steelers strategy of building championship rosters almost exclusively through the NFL draft brought them the legendary likes of Joe Greene and Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Jack Lambert, Rod Woodson and Dermonti Dawson, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu and Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt, and the still untouchable class of 1974. The draft remains an invaluable tool, but is no longer the only game in town. Thank #$%^ for small favors. I remember portentous recent offseasons where if the Steelers had not addressed a particular position in the draft, that deficiency seemed destined to linger unresolved until the following April. Plumbing the free agent market was rare enough indeed, practically an admission of guilt, and certainly a measure not to be considered except in case of emergency.
2025 may finally be the season that gives conclusive lie to this theory of unbreakable Steelers “tradition”, though for good or ill is as yet undetermined. From the moment the former league laughing stock first tasted glory in Super Bowl IX – indeed, from the moment visionary coach Chuck Noll drafted aforementioned cornerstone “Mean” Joe Greene with his debut pick in 1969 – the Rooney Family ownership group has craved two things in equal measure: success and consistency. One naturally begets the other, whichever you happen to be talking about, though neither is easy to come by in such a cutthroat industry, and the degree to which the Steelers have nevertheless achieved some semblance of both over the course of a half century+ is somewhat amazing. I’d suggest it’s been well over a decade since “business as usual” of the type practiced in Pittsburgh during its historic heydays has been a particularly viable strategy, and that it was simply among the very last organizations to get the message. If you look at the most successful franchises in the 17 years since the Steelers last hoisted a Lombardi Trophy – your Patriots, Chiefs, Eagles, Ravens, Bills, etc. – they’ve been defined by a smattering of semi-permanent homegrown talent at the most important positions and supplemented by an oft-rotating mélange of draft picks and choice free agents elsewhere. Meanwhile, the last vestiges of “traditional” thinking brought Pittsburgh two ineffective final years of franchise icon Ben Roethlisberger, and then, upon his grudging retirement, an uncharacteristic first round reach for Pitt alum and future professional journeyman Kenny Pickett.
If Pittsburgh’s all-important quarterback situation was unsettled even with a deteriorating but game Roethlisberger at the helm, it has been downright chaotic ever since, and, depending on whom you ask, so remains. Of several pretenders to the throne who’ve since donned the black and yellow, Pickett was, as befits any first-round pick, given the longest leash, though he was, at best, merely, unseemly competent, and even occasionally petulant in a town that expects in its football idols strength of both muscle and character and unswervingly demands greatness on the field. Such bottomless, uniformly reasonable (hehe), evergreen expectations are of course a byproduct of year upon year of the kind of success and consistency that long-suffering fans in too many markets to name would figuratively die for. So the pressure is again on the Steelers, both players and brass, anew and yet entirely too familiar, radiating inward from millions of very loud, very opinionated inflection points. Over each fresh offseason of the last, say, five years, the hopes that sprang during training camp at venerable Saint Vincent College inevitably bloomed once the games started counting, only to plateau then decline sharply before a practically fated collapse in the postseason. Four playoff appearances across five once promising seasons, with four first round playoff exits, practically a fait accompli, each more dispiriting than the last, and culminating in a comprehensive embarrassment at the claws of the hated Ravens that almost roused me from exile long enough to post an ill-advised postmortem recap tentatively titled “The Woodshed”.
It would’ve been a hoot to read, sure, but cooler heads thankfully prevailed. Ye gods.
The wrong sort of consistency. Something obviously had to change. Conventional wisdom from internet sports intelligentsia – some paid observers, many more volunteers – eagerly lays disproportionate but still valid blame for the Steelers’ futility at the feet of coach Mike Tomlin, architect of the vaunted non-losing streak, above-line gridiron communicator and leader of men, and undoubtedly still the best quote in the League. Criticism of Tomlin has flown and been flung both fast and furious since the moment he assumed the stage, and, to be perfectly frank, some of it has never been for reasons remotely within his control. There’s always noise around Tomlin, though he tries to mute the attention from being an on-field distraction. These Steelers are definitely stuck in the mud, however, and Tomlin is the one driving the car, so he rightly bears the brunt of fan frustration and runaway media whataboutism. Is he all talk, as his fiercest critics have long contended? Has his ability to connect with young players finally deserted him? Does he, and, by extension, the organization somehow care about yet another non-losing season at the expense of doing the necessary work to craft an unambiguous winning one? Is he finally, officially on the proverbial coaching “hot seat” so many have desperately ascribed to him lo these many years? Yeah, maybe. Why not? But if team ownership trusts Tomlin enough to not only retain but also extend him following a 2024 campaign that even I thought was particularly damning, then he has the bandwidth to at least engineer his own exit.
Now that the Steelers front office has spent this offseason making ostensibly out-of-character moves with speed and decisiveness sufficient to induce whiplash, we see the Rooney family’s edict more in focus than it has been in years. Consistent success doesn’t necessarily equal Super Bowls, or even playoff wins, but, again, one element begets the other, no matter which of the two you’re talking about. For too long a time, the Steelers have focused on being competitive. The mindset was never about rebuilding, despite myriad calls for it from outside the organization, nor has it ever been in my active memory. If Tomlin’s going out, or somehow teetering on the verge, it seems to have been decided that simply being competitive – as if competing in the NFL each and every year is simple – is no longer sufficient. When Roethlisberger was declining, he was still good enough to count on. Pickett never played well enough to fully validate the team’s investment in him, and when he was replaced due to injury, there was no coming back from it, literally or figuratively. Mason Rudolph was a career backup boasting unexpected flashes of brilliance, and is poised to resume that role now that he’s back from his underperforming Nashville sabbatical. Russell Wilson was a big-talking stopgap. Mitch Trubisky was a well-meaning disaster. Justin Fields was a waste of potential who rightly decided he was done with being strung along, then counterintuitively joined the New York Jets. Quarterback remains the most important position in sports, full stop, and the Steelers’ haphazard years-long journey to properly succeed Roethlisberger has thrown into stark relief what a tall task that truly is.
Into the breach following a prolonged courtship that has felt at times like jury deliberations building to a crushing deadlock stepped Super Bowl champion and four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers, himself late of those same Jets following a statistically reasonable yet underwhelming two-year tenure. Rodgers’ on-field bona fides speak for themselves, and if they were the only part of him ever talking, Steelers Nation would likely be celebrating his arrival in full-throated unanimity. Instead, the initial response has alternated on a fan-by-fan basis between weary resignation, cautious optimism, bubbling rage, and suicide watch. Beyond his having led Green Bay to a heartbreaking victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, I personally cultivated my own serious distaste for the famous conspiracy theorist and vaccine skeptic during the Covid lockdown, and viewed the inevitability with which the two parties circled each other for seemingly endless months with increasing dread. In retrospect, it’s interesting how large swaths of the fanbase seem to have fast-tracked a grieving process of sorts, burning through the Denial and Anger stages while Rodgers was still months away from making any announcement, then stomping up and down on Bargaining right up until the eleventh hour (then, of course, hightailing it back to Anger). Hey, I’ll see your one-year starter Mason Rudolph and raise you trading for washed-up, overpriced Kirk Cousins! Howzabout starting physically gifted 6th round draft pick Will Howard instead? Have you heard that default QB4/designated Training Camp arm Skylar Thompson may be a diamond in the rough? Do tell us all about it in the comments.
Now that the deed has been done and the dust is finally clearing, my weary resignation has morphed into cautious optimism. As evidenced by his 2024 overindulgence of Russell Wilson, Tomlin is obviously a big fan of handing the keys to proven free agent QB commodities. I felt about the same about things last year, especially with Justin Fields theoretically waiting in the wings. The more I think about how Rodgers might fit the Steelers, the more comfortable I am with the broad strokes. A lot of my disposition, ironically, is buoyed by his handful of public comments since taking the job. His is an incentive-laden, exceptionally cap-friendly salary on a strict one-year deal, freeing up the team to allocate the $20 or more million dollars Rodgers might’ve commanded if he was an unalloyed prick about it, or it was five years ago, or both, to other problem areas. Stating up front that this is probably his last year opens the Steelers up to embracing a full “win now” mentality, because with Rodgers at the head, there’s officially no tomorrow. To that end, consider the notable additions of former Seahawks Pro Bowl receiver D.K. Metcalf, the free agent acquisition of former Eagles Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay, the extension of excellent in-house safety DeShon Elliott, and, recently, the just south of blockbuster trade of former All Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for former All Pro corner Jalen Ramsey and outstanding possession Tight End Jonnu Smith. And if you are also bullish as I am on Will Howard as a possible future standard bearer, hell, Rodgers has already offered to mentor him as much or as little as he wishes.
Anyone can say the right thing when pressed, or, I guess, offer up the right thing without prompting to keep his critics on their toes, but I get the distinct feeling Rodgers is enjoying where he is just now, and feeling good about the possibilities. Who knows how long it lasts, but I like the idea of a rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers leading an offense tailored to his still-substantial talents and instincts. As important as the addition of Metcalf in the grand scheme of things is probably the subtraction by trade of ultra-talented problem child receiver George Pickens, whose occasional me-first outbursts put multiple games at risk last season. Lots of folks are still pining for the Steelers to trade for a young wideout like Romeo Doubs or Chris Olave, or kick the tires on free agent Amari Cooper, but don’t sleep on the potential of the newly added Smith to shine as more of a giant slot receiver than a standard tight end. As someone with a now redundant Minkah Fitzpatrick jersey to wean out of my rotation, I’m not going to pretend that losing him doesn’t sting, but it’s business, I suppose. Backup safety Juan Thornhill is not a 1:1 replacement by any means, even if you think Minkah had lost a step, but he does have talent, and the ability to deploy Ramsey alternately as a pass-rushing, ball-hawking slot corner and a conditional (or, if need be, full-time) safety gives defensive coordinator Teryl Austin lots to work with when confusing the opposition. Recent draft classes have been asked to step up immediately, and this year’s seems like no exception. I love the insertion of first round masher Derek Harmon into a defensive line already featuring Cam Heyward and Keanu Benton. Kaleb Johnson seems like a solid running back brimming with potential to shine in Arthur Smith’s bull moose offense, and I anxiously await the return from injury of last year’s first rounder Troy Fautanu to shore up the O-Line (plus Roman Wilson to fill out the WR room), essentially gifting us two first round picks who’ll not only almost certainly start as rookies but should.
I delayed writing another “Steelers Thoughts” post until now for several reasons. Even given the fact that DAE has in general dwindled away to a dull twinkle due to an acute lack of motivation and/or time, my efforts as a faux sportswriter have never constituted a regular beat. I tell you where my head’s at before cold, cruel reality bashes it in. The internet is full of scribes more reliable than I am, and, of course, home pages and search engines replete with awful clickbait touting this outlandish trade theory or other, times one frigging million. Given the market limitations, I didn’t want to offer up two pennies of my own until Rodgers was present and accounted for, and our training camp lineup was more or less set. The only remaining loose end to tighten before the Steelers head to Latrobe at month’s end would be extending T.J. Watt, a windfall that will most likely make him the highest paid non-QB in the league, and for which he held out of mini camps. No one except the professional spammers want to even contemplate the idea of a trade. I obviously want him back, want him healthy, motivated, paid, all of it, though I’m not going to pretend I didn’t operate under pleased but momentarily furrowed brows when Pittsburgh drafted OSU edge playmaker Jack Sawyer in the fourth round. In no universe does any combination of Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Jack Sawyer, and significant draft capital balance out the loss of T.J. Watt. You can pretty much count on it not happening. Count on the Steelers doing the right thing here. For all the vitriol hurled his way by laymen, football players on the whole really enjoy playing for Mike Tomlin. The tiresome parrots constantly calling for his head would be well advised to bear that in mind when researching his theoretical replacement. Besides, after this offseason still in progress, he’s no longer the unquestioned most important guy in the room. General Manager Omar Khan, just rewarded with a three-year contract extension of his own, has wheeled and dealed, and taken the Rooney desire for consistent success to the next level through his efforts, or at least as close as it’s felt in recent memory. It’s already been quite a ride.
Sign T.J., and the 2025 Steelers are officially all in.
darkadaptedeye 