The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2026 offseason is slowly starting to come to an end as the team is just about a month away from kicking off the regular season at home against the Atlanta Falcons. With a new coaching staff led by Head Coach Mike McCarthy, many are ready to turn over a new leaf in the Steel City as they welcome him home. The Greenfield, PA native has a lot of work cut out for him, especially as the team looks to rediscover playoff success. With many moving parts on the roster, he is hoping to muster up magic as he reunites with Aaron Rodgers.
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New Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy talks with quarterback Aaron Rodgers at training camp practice on August 11th, 2026
Joining his staff is new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who looks to install a tenacious defense Pittsburgh is used to. He is another one with plenty of work cut out for him, as the unit looks to have a drastic turnaround in his first year coaching them. However, a former member of that defense recently revealed some things about his playing time with the franchise.
On Tuesday, former Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark hosted an episode of the Pivot Podcast and spoke with a couple members of the New York Jets. One of those players he spoke to is former Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. During the episode, he opened up about one fatal flaw that could have led to him being traded away.
“I would say in Pittsburgh, I definitely regret the way I handled the situation,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think I could have, you know, approached the defensive staff and said, ‘Hey, if you want to maximize my splash plays and my ability to affect the game, you got to, you know, move me around and do different things.’ I think that would have affected my career for sure. Like you said, you want to have uncomfortable conversations.”
This admission from the former All-Pro safety is huge, especially as communication appeared to have become an issue last season for the team. This was particularly exposed often times on the defense when they would allow splash plays. A breakthrough was recently mentioned for linebacker Payton Wilson, who openly admitted this offseason to wanting to communicate better for the greater good of the defense. He'll have a chance to right the ship in 2026.
Steelers Will Put An Emphasis On Communication
Improving communication is something the the Black and Gold must drastically improve in the 2026 NFL season, but it is not just limited to the defensive side of the ball. The offense also has to take a big step in this department as they also have a ton of work to do in order to make it a successful first season for McCarthy in the Steel City. However, the organization is known for its smashmouth style of defense, especially given the glory days of the Steel Curtain.
If that type of lockdown defense is going to return in Graham's first year coaching them, they are going to have to clean it up big time with communication. They have to rid themselves of their old, bad habits where guys get loose and Pittsburgh defenders are just looking around absolutely lost on the field following a splash play, or even worse, a touchdown. With the front office having committed a great amount financially, they have to go out on the field and start proving it each week in 2026.
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Steelers' Patrick Graham during voluntary veteran minicamp in 2026.
The one thing that could play well into their hands in 2026 is that Graham maximized the outcome on the field while coaching the Las Vegas Raiders. Outside of star edge rusher Maxx Crosby, he did arguably not have much to work with, but did orchestrate a great turnaround in the 2023 NFL season as the team finished ninth in the NFL in scoring defense (19.5 points allowed per game). If Graham and his players in Pittsburgh want to see some success in 2026, open communication is going to have to be a big focal point, especially given Fitzpatrick's latest comments about his time with the franchise.
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