Steelers' Art Rooney II Needs To Kill The "Steeler Way" For A More Modern Approach Entering 2023 (Art Rooney II)
Art Rooney II

Steelers' Art Rooney II Needs To Kill The "Steeler Way" For A More Modern Approach Entering 2023

NFL.com
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Everyone knows of the long tradition of winning and success from the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, many fans are tired of Art Rooney II clinging on to old traditions, whether it affects the on-field product or not. It took a "hold-in" by a generational edge rusher in TJ Watt for the team to break their tradition of refusing to give anyone guaranteed money after year one of a contract. There are plenty of other things that the Steelers need to change. 

Steelers GM Omar Khan and Owner Art Rooney II

The Athletic

Steelers' Omar Khan has thrived since taking over as the team's general manager in 2022.

Joey Porter Jr. announced on his Instagram account that the Steelers wouldn't allow him to wear #5 on his jersey or have "Jr" on his nameplate. While it doesn't affect what happens on the field, there's still no reason to not let this happen. Porter Jr. jersey sales would likely take off even more if he was allowed to wear his single digit. It doesn't help that George Pickens wasn't allowed to wear #1, and that caused reasonable speculation that Darnell Washington wasn't allowed to wear #0 like he did in college.

Pickens' inability to wear #1 stems from another tradition that needs to be broken: soft-retired numbers. There are many numbers that Rooney II won't allow players to wear, despite the fact that only three numbers are officially retired. Franco Harris unfortunately passed before his jersey retirement, so it's time for more of the legendary 1970's team to have their jersey hanging in the stadium before something like that happens again.

Steelers terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger

sportingnews.com


When was the last time you saw a Steeler wearing #12? Terry Bradshaw was the last Steeler to ever wear it, yet the number isn't officially retired. It's been 40 years since Bradshaw retired, and it's been longer for some of the other legends that retired before him. Even with more recent players, it's obvious that no one will ever wear #7 or #43 again. Art Rooney II needs to start retiring more legends' jerseys and just get it over with. There is literally no point in the Steelers keeping them officially unretired, but still barring anyone from wearing them.

Rooney's stubborn approach to running the Steelers also involves him being very cheap in multiple aspects. That doesn't come from fan speculation, as many players from the Steelers completed the NFLPA's survey and gave the Steelers a poor grade overall. He is seen as one of the cheapest owners in the league, as the majority of the team doesn't believe that Rooney is willing to invest in upgrades with the team.

His cheapness also stems from coaching, as the Steelers always go into the offseason with a barebones staff. While other teams hire coaches that have a history of success and/or are an up-and-coming coaching prospect, the Steelers hire coaches that either have no NFL coaching experience or have failed in their previous job. Brian Flores is the exception, but that was more due to the NFL blackballing him, which caused his value to tank drastically. There's been much criticism of Mike Tomlin, but maybe that criticism can go away if Rooney allows him to hire more qualified coaches.

Steelers Mike Tomlin and Matt Canada

Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin (right) and offensive coordinator, Matt Canada (left) laugh with one another at a practice during training camp. | Photo Credit: Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Not only is Rooney responsible for the lackluster coaching staff, but he is also responsible for the Steelers not firing their lackluster coaches. All coaching salaries are 100% guaranteed, meaning they get paid if they get fired. Rooney doesn't want to pay to have a bad coach leave, which leads to Matt Canada spending another year as offensive coordinator, much to the dismay of everyone except Rooney.


What do you think about the stubborn traditions that Art Rooney II desperately clings on to? Let us know in the comments below.

#SteelerNation.



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