Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers are excited for a new era. Even with how beloved Mike Tomlin was in the locker room, the hope is that a new leader with a more modern approach will be exactly what the team needs to finally get over the hump and go back to the Super Bowl, let alone win a playoff game. This may be the biggest decision that Owner Art Rooney II will ever make. Fans have started getting irritated with him, and this coaching decision could potentially make or break his reputation.
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Steelers Team President Art Rooney II stands on the field while watching his team get ready for a regular season game.
However, it seems like he has completely lost some of the locals. Joe Starkey answered a question in his mailbag by going off on Rooney and accusing him of being clueless.
"I’m not sure Art Rooney II realizes much at this point," Starkey said. "He’s under the delusion that his team was 'in contention' all these recent years under Mike Tomlin and can’t figure out why anyone would 'waste' a year resetting or rebuilding or whatever you want to call it. So I guess 2003, when they went 6-10, was a waste of everybody’s time even though it begat Ben Roethlisberger, who is most responsible for the subsequent 22-year non-losing streak? And when I say 'non-losing streak,' I’m obviously not referring to playoff games, because the Steelers are riding a seven-game losing streak there, with the losses coming by an average of more than two touchdowns. If getting your wheels blown off in the Wild Card Round is 'in contention,' then I’m Duck Hodges."
Starkey had no problems letting out his true feelings about Rooney. He did admit that he wanted to run it back with Tomlin for another year, but it's unclear if he would have gone with him beyond 2026 or not. What is clear, however, is that he had no plans to allow his team to trade away a bunch of key pieces so they could take a step back and "waste" a year trying to be bad.
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Steelers' Cam Heyward puts his arm around Team President Art Rooney II.
As Starkey mentioned, the Steelers being bad in 2003 led to them landing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and everything from there is history. If the Steelers went 8-8 that year, who knows if he falls far enough in the draft for Pittsburgh to land the future Hall of Famer? Maybe the team would have been stuck with JP Losman and not been able to win a Super Bowl in the 2000s.
The argument for tanking now is that the 2027 draft class is supposed to be amazing, especially with many of those prospects being projected to go in the upcoming 2026 draft, but opting to stay in school for another year. With the endless cycle of quarterback purgatory that the Steelers are in, doing everything possible to get a future franchise quarterback may not be the worst decision, but Rooney tends to think otherwise.
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Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and Art Rooney II on the field during a home game.
To people like Starkey, it feels like Rooney is so afraid of losing that he's making it hard on himself to win. Sometimes, you have to take risks and go against old ways to truly be great, and there is no indication that ownership wants to try that route, especially if it means tanking. If this playoff win drought continues while the team desperately tries to win games, angry fans will be chanting for more than the head coach to go.
Steelers Could Anger Their Fans With This 1 Decision
There are many potential head coaches with a high ceiling, even if they have a low floor. The safe option would be to hire Mike McCarthy to lead the Steelers, and there are rumors swirling around that people in the building love him. He may be a decent offensive coordinator option, but hiring him feels like the team would be in for more years of the same frustrating teams.
What do you think about Starkey's rant on Rooney? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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