The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently going through a robust search for a new head coach. This is the first time the organization has had to do this in nearly two decades due to the success of former head coach, Mike Tomlin. Tomlin stepped down immediately following the conclusion of the 2025 season, and the franchise has been taking its time interviewing candidates ever since. Many fans are nervous about how the organization will conduct this search as it is the first time current Team President Art Rooney II is leading the charge.
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Steelers Team President and Owner Art Rooney II stands on the field as Pittsburgh gets set to play a professional football game on the road.
At times in recent years, it has seemed like the organization is behind the rest of the NFL. This is true about the franchise's offensive approach and defensive schematics, and the organizational structure doesn't match the rest of the successful teams in the league. Other teams have larger coaching staffs, large analytics departments, and more resources are poured into making the team better. That is not necessarily the case in Pittsburgh, which is something that Brooke Pryor spoke on in a recent article for ESPN.
"Though multiple league sources consider the family-owned team's ownership stability a strength, there are concerns about its willingness to spend money in an effort to modernize the old-school franchise," Pryor wrote. "'It's better than most, job-wise,' a long-time coaching source said. 'They need to bump up salaries.' Not only are Steelers assistants often compensated less than their counterparts on other teams, according to multiple league sources, but under Tomlin, the Steelers consistently had a smaller coaching staff than most of the league."
The coaching job in Pittsburgh is coveted due to the loyalty that the organization has, but according to Pryor, sources around the league believe Rooney needs to up the budget when it comes to the entire coaching staff. This means higher salaries for individuals, while also opening up more roles to match the more analytical times that are taking place in the NFL.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin roams the practice field as his team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Teams around the NFL have created coaching positions that weren't typically considered normal about 15 years ago. For example, the Los Angeles Rams have multiple pass game coordinators, a pass rush coordinator, a run game coordinator, and a game management coordinator. None of those jobs existed in Pittsburgh under Tomlin, and they are going to have to moving forward. The NFL has changed, and Rooney needs to open up his checkbook to fill out a formidable coaching staff. Pryor spoke about the differences in coaching staff sizes around the NFL.
"In 2024, the average NFL team had 23 assistant coaches, excluding strength and conditioning staff, according to data analyzed by ESPN," Pryor wrote. "The Steelers had just 18, tying them with the Colts for the fewest assistant coaches in the league that season. A big part of that, of course, was Tomlin's preference. The next head coach, though, will almost undoubtedly come from an organization with a more robust support staff, and the Steelers could be faced with needing to expand their coaching roster."
Pryor alluded that the smaller coaching staff was in part due to Tomlin's preference, which hopefully was the only thing holding Pittsburgh back from mirroring the rest of the league in this regard. Pittsburgh has interviewed multiple candidates from the Rams, and if either are hired, they will likely want to create some of the positions mentioned earlier in Pittsburgh.
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Steelers President Art Rooney II walks on the field before the team gets ready for a game against its AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steelers' Art Rooney II Has Shown Signs Of Being Cheap Before
The Steelers are often slammed whenever the NFLPA's annual report card comes out. These grades often give an evaluation from players of each team on the ownership and management of the team. The grades are split into different categories. Some are focused on football, while others evaluate how the organization treats player's families, how the facilities are, transportation, food, and other things like that. Pittsburgh typically ranks toward the bottom, which is another sign of Rooney being a little frugal.
What do you think about Rooney's spending habits when it comes to the coaching staff? Comment below!
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