The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for another season of questionable quarterbacking, as the best options have already been taken from them in free agency. The team waited too long to get a deal done, which cost them Justin Fields. The only other high-upside passer available, Sam Darnold, already signed a deal with the Seattle Seahawks. At this point, it seems like Pittsburgh is just waiting for Aaron Rodgers to be cut, so they can hurry up and sign him for his last ride. At the end of the day, they have absolutely no answer for their recent failures.
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Aaron Rodgers stands with Mike Tomlin before a game while he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
While appearing on First Take, Stephen A. Smith brought up these issues with the team and went straight to the head coaching position for his questioning.
"Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl, it was in 2008, they lost in 2010, ain't been back to the Super Bowl since. Fine, no problem," said Smith. "But to not having won a [playoff game] since 2016, to having five straight years of being one and done, and you know, it's been nine years since you won a playoff game, these are the Steelers we're talking about here. One of the most storied franchises in NFL history."
While many people would agree that Head Coach Mike Tomlin is the reason the Steelers are always above .500, it seems like the floor is very close to the ceiling. Sure, they can win regular season games, but they have failed time and time again in the postseason. They keep getting blown out, yet little changes.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin looks on during a snowy game in Cleveland, Ohio against the Browns in 2024.
Smith mentioned that he and his colleagues all still love Tomlin as a coach, but he acknowledges that nobody cares about his ability to help his team have a winning record since he seemingly can't do better than that anymore.
"We love Mike Tomlin," said Smith. "We don't want to see him go anywhere. Y'all know better than me how difficult it is to have a record that never falls below .500 over the course of 18 years. That is an accomplishment. But in the end, really, we also have to debate what level of mediocrity we want to embrace, because when you're middle of the road, you can't really get a high-end draft pick, because you didn't stink up the joint, right? And obviously you ain't winning championships, so what difference does it make? That's ultimately how people are going to look at it."
Some fans have wanted the Steelers to go ahead and tank, so they have the best chance possible to snag a franchise quarterback the following year. The front office has always made a statement that they have no plans of bottoming out. They recently traded away a second-round pick to get one of the best receivers available in DK Metcalf, and then they immediately gave him a $132 million extension.
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Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (#14) catches a touchdown over former Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds during a regular season matchup (#34) at then-Heinz Field back in Pittsburgh, PA in 2019.
Steelers Need To Address The Elephant In The Room
Players have changed, assistant coaches have changed, the general manager has changed, and even ownership has changed over the previous nine years. There are two things that have not changed in the organization: the head coach, and the philosophies of that head coach.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Tomlin refuses to change anything about himself, and it's likely why the Steelers are stuck in purgatory. If the Steelers have any desire to be better, they need to let him go.
What do you think about Smith's remarks about how the Steelers need to re-evaluate how they do things? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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