The Pittsburgh Steelers must start winning and build a staff and roster capable of competing for titles.
Despite missing the playoffs yet again and questions surrounding the quarterback position, with searches for assistant coaches starting, owner Art Rooney chose to keep Mike Tomlin for the 2024 season.
The Steelers have not won a postseason game since the 2016 season. The seven-year skid is the franchise’s longest since the NFL merger, and the Steelers have lost their last five playoff games, including a 31-17 loss to Buffalo in the wild-card stage this season.
“Players still respond to Mike, and that’s No. 1,” Rooney said. “He still has the key characteristics we saw when we hired him. He can keep the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for a whole season and keep them in the fight the whole way.”
“We still feel good about Mike. If I didn’t, we’d make a change. If I didn’t think Mike could lead us to a championship, he wouldn’t be here.”
“Players still respond to Mike, and that’s No. 1,” Rooney said in a statement. “He still possesses the important attributes we identified when we recruited him. He can hold the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for an entire season and keep them fighting all the way.”
“We still have good feelings about Mike. If I don’t, we’ll make a change. If I didn’t believe Mike could lead us to the title, he wouldn’t be here.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers ended a three-game losing streak in December by winning their final three games to finish 10-7 and secure Tomlin’s 17th consecutive winning season. It was a one-game improvement from the Steelers’ 9-8 record in 2022, when they missed the playoffs.
“I think it’s fair to say we are closer this year at this stage of the game than we were at this point last year,” he remarked. “I believed we had a strong rookie class and a few individuals that stood up and will be excellent starters in the future. We need to do it again and have another strong draft class. “We can compete with this group.”
If the Steelers are to contend, and Rooney is correct, they must hire a creative offensive coordinator who can either get the most out of Kenny Pickett and help him become the franchise quarterback, or work with Tomlin and the general manager to select or sign a free agent.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney says the pending OC decision is entirely Mike Tomlin’s choice.
For much too long, the Steelers and Tomlin remained loyal to former offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Everyone in the NFL knew a change was necessary, yet they persevered with him week after week until the pressure became too much.
The most recent candidate Pittsburgh has interviewed is former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, and there are several more on the list.
But the Pittsburgh Steelers’ owner wants to make it clear that the final choice is entirely up to head coach Mike Tomlin.
“To be clear, it’s Mike’s hire,” Rooney told reporters. “Head coaches hire their coordinators, and I think it’d be a mistake for me to try to screw up the lines of authority, let’s say, in terms of how things are supposed to work.”That being said, Mike and I speak every day. Omar communicates every day, exchanging ideas, but it needs to be Mike’s hire, and I believe Mike understood that we want someone with some experience and, say, a track record that we can look at and feel comfortable with. So those are the things Mike is looking for.
