Tag Archives: Art Rooney Sr.

Steelers Offense Implodes in 20-3 Loss to Patriots at Gillette Stadium

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Week 2 of the 2026 season saw the Pittsburgh Steelers drop a 20 to 3 decision to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Given the dynamics of NFL scheduling and Steelers tortured history in Foxborough the loss itself should surprise no one.

  • But the Steelers complete offensive impotence should alarm everyone.

Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy manned up, acknowledged his offense’s poor play and took full responsibility. Good for him. The critical question McCarthy must answer now is this: Can we chalk Pittsburgh’s offensive ineptitude to sloppy “September football” or are the Steelers woes more systemic?

Gabe Jackas strip sacks Aaron Rodgers during the Steelers week 2 loss to the Patriots in 2026

How bad was it? This Gabe Jacas hit on Aaron Rodgers wasn’t even a sack…. Photo Credit: AP via the Tribune-Review

SOSO: Same Old Steelers Offense. And Then Some…

Art Rooney Sr. had a term during his franchise’s 40-some-odd years in the wilderness: Same Old Steelers. While the term hasn’t been forgotten, it hasn’t been used much since Chuck Noll’s arrival in 1969.

  • Yet the term certainly applies to the Steelers offense throughout this decade.

Yes, during the first third or maybe even half of the 2020 season, the Steelers fielded an NFL varsity-worthy offense. But outside of that, the 2020s have seen the Steelers win in spite of their offense and almost never because of it.

The remedy, social media commentators have readily assured us:

  • Hire an offensive-minded head coach
  • Surround him with younger, innovative assistants
  • Be more aggressive in improving talent

Art Rooney II hired McCarthy, an offensive minded coach. McCarthy’s staff is well-renowned. Omar Khan has aggressively addressed the offense in the draft, free agency and with multiple trades.

Yet, two games into the 2026 campaign, the Steelers offense not only doesn’t look better than anything Mike Tomlin fielded in 2024 or 2025; against the Patriots it looked worse:

  • The Steelers went 2-12 on third down conversions
  • Patriots defenders sacked Aaron Rodgers 4 times and hit him 7
  • Rodgers suffered not one but two strip sacks
  • Pittsburgh’s best receiver, Germie Bernard caught 4 balls but bobbled a 5th that got picked off
  • D.K. Metcalf, the supposed No. 1 WR, had 4 catches for 27 yards – including garbage time
  • The Steelers defense secured 2 turnovers; the offense squandered both

Those numbers, while bleak, really fail to paint a picture of how pitifully Pittsburgh’s offense failed in Foxborough.

The Steelers offense opened with twin three and outs followed by a missed field goal. After that they opened the third quarter with a workmanlike drive where Rodgers found the rookie Bernard several times and Pat Freiermuth executed the tush push on 4th down.

They made it all the way to the New England 25. A three yard pass to D.K. Metcalf brought up to the 22. Rodgers then tried and failed to find Darnell Washington, bringing up 3rd and 7. Here’s what followed:

Christian Elliss folded Aaron Rodgers in half, knocking the ball loose, and a 3rd & 7 with a very makeable field goal became 4th and 43. Credit Troy Fautanu for recovering the ball, but the Steelers drafted him to protect the quarterback, not recovery strip sacks.

Troy Fautanu recovers a strip sack during the Steelers 2026 week 2 loss to the New England Patriots

Troy Fautanu saves six and recovers a strip sack. Photo Credit: AP via Tribune-Review

A similar self-sabotage sequence unfolded in the 4th quarter when the Steelers, theoretically at least, still had a chance rally.

The Steelers moved the ball deftly with Jaylen Warren’s running and Aaron Rodgers hitting Metcalf and Roman Wilson on underneath routes. At the Patriots 30 , Rodgers hit Warren who zigged, zagged and powered his way 25 yards to the 4. On cue, the Steelers’ offense self-destructed:

  • Elijah Ponder sacked Aaron Rodgers on first down, knocking them 9 yards back.
  • On second Rodgers hit Bernard, who had the ball bounce off his hands and into Gabe Jacas’.

Rodgers saved the touchdown with a tackle, but again, he didn’t stay out of retirement to make tackles.

Sandwiched in between these twin debacles was Christian Barmore’s strip sack of Rodgers and Elijah Ponder’s recovery of the ball that he returned for a touchdown.

There’s no sugar coating how bad the Steelers offense was against the Patriots. Sure, Warren, Rico Dowdle and Travis Homer logged some nice runs, but the running game never broached establishing a rhythm.

The offensive line deserves every ounce of criticism coming its way, but the truth is that several of Rodgers’ passes were off target and, when they weren’t, his receivers weren’t giving him any help.

Steelers Defense Solid Despite Lapses

Only 7 of the Patriots points were supplied by their defense. Their offense scored 13 more, not including a missed field goal. The truth is, the Steelers defense played well enough to win.

Patrick Queen intercepts Derek Maye in the 3rd quarter.

Patrick Queen Intercepts Derrick Maye. Photo Credit: AP via Tribune-Review

No, they didn’t deliver a 5 turnover performance that propelled the Steelers to victory in New England this time last year. But one has to wonder if would have been sufficient with this offense. Still, Patrick Graham’s defense made its share of splash plays:

The offense, however, only netted 4 yards following that fumble, although they were not helped by Jalen Ramsey’s jawboning that cost the offense 15 yards.

There were other lapses of course. New England’s only touchdown came on a 39-yard run where TreVeyon Henderson sliced through the middle of the Steelers defense with only Asante Samuel Jr. barely getting a hand on him.

Romeo Doubs also found a gaping hole in the Steelers secondary to steal a 63 yard reception, although Patrick Graham’s defense held there, forcing a field goal.

But when a defense holds an NFL offense to 13 points is playing winning football.

Take Away for Mike McCarthy: Stop the Offense from Self-Destructing

In beating the Falcons last week, Mike McCarthy joined his three immediate predecessors by winning his first game as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Alas, in week two he continued to follow in Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin’s footsteps, as both men lost their first games at Gillette Stadium, and lost them badly. These parallels are useful because they sharpen the focus on McCarthy’s challenge this morning.

Bill Cowher lost his first game at Gillette, because he couldn’t stop Bill Belichick’s spread offense. Mike Tomlin lost his in his first visit to New England because Tom Brady, in route to a 19-1 season, toasted his secondary.

  • In both cases, it wasn’t a question of scheme but rather one of talent.

Neither coach could find in-season fixes the fundamental deficiencies plaguing their defenses, but both men led their Steelers squads to division titles.

  • Its Mike McCarthy’s offense that needs fixing.

Whether talent or scheme is driving its disfunction remains to be seen, but the best good take away from the loss to the Patriots for McCarthy is a simple one:  Find away to stop his offense from self-destructing whenever it reaches scoring position.

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What Went Wrong During the Second Half of the Mike Tomlin Era?

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Editors Note: Why did the Steelers’ championship window close after the 2016 AFC Championship Game? Here we provide a 360 view of the franchise during the latter half of Mike Tomlin’s tenure. For an end-to-end analysis of Tomlin’s entire career click here.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers team charter went wheels up at Logan International Airport on January 22nd, 2017, everyone onboard knew they’d passed a milestone.

  • But no one, however, knew what that milestone marked.

Getting pulverized by the Patriots in another AFC Championship game stung, for sure. But Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison and Greg Warren offered 3 reasons for hope: They were the only Super Bowl XLIII veterans on the plane.

Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin stood on the precipice of a near impossible feat: Executing an end-to-end rebuild around a franchise quarterback.

Ah, but every conference championship loss comes with a rub: Either they signal that you’re about to open heaven’s door, or, that you’re never getting in.

The Steelers never re-opened heaven’s door in the latter half of the Tomlin Era. They didn’t even come close.

Today we look at what went wrong and why championship window closed.

Chris Hogan's touchdown, as Robert Golden "watched" and Sammie Coates dropped pass were critical moments in the Pittsburgh Steelers January 2017 AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots.

Chris Hogan catches a TD and Sammie Coates drops a pass in Steelers loss to the Patriots in the 2016 AFC Championship. Photo credits: Matt Slocum, AP; Patrick Smith II, AP

1. Ringing the Bell 1 Too Many Times – Franchising Le’Veon Bell a 2nd Time

The first critical football decision after the AFC Championship loss to the Patriots was to put the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell.

It was the right move — Bell had just broken records that Hall of Famers John Henry Johnson, Franco Harris or Jerome Bettis never touched.

  • Bell played 2017 on the franchise tag and piled up nearly 2000 all-purpose yards.

In the spring of 2018, Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin ignored Bell’s warning that he wouldn’t play on a second franchise tender and franchised him again.

I was wrong. The decision was a disaster for everyone. Really, this decision had a ripple effect that gave the Steelers post-2016 decline momentum.

Le'Veon Bell, Le'Veon Bell free agent,

Le’Veon Bell departing the gridiron at Heinz Field. Photo Credit: EPA, via the New York Post

Franchising Bell locked up 14.5 million dollars in salary cap space, preventing Pittsburgh from addressing other priorities. Bargain hunting in the inside linebacker market brought them Jon Bostic who was strong against the run, but struggled vs the pass.

And, because they were counting on Bell, they failed to add an experienced running back during the 2018 off-season.

Which leads us to….

2. Failing to Staff Adequate Running Back Depth

Failure to staff sufficient running back depth started several seasons earlier, but it hurt them, again, in the AFC Championship. When Bell got injured, DeAngelo Williams entered.

Williams had done an exceptional job in 2015 in Bell’s absence, so bringing him back was a wise move, despite his age. But Williams had needed knee surgery during the season, and against the Patriots he averaged 2.4 yards a carry – and that’s with a long run of 15 yards.

Mewelde Moore, David Jones, Steelers vs Bengals 2008

Mewelde Moore, the unsung hero of the Steelers 2008 season. Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images via Zimbo.com

It’s easy to say, “So what? Any team that loses its top two running backs, is screwed no matter what.” But the 2008 Steelers had lost their top two running backs and still won the Super Bowl thanks to Mewelde Moore.

  • But too many Steelers teams in this era lacked a Gary Russell caliber back, let alone a Mewelde Moore or even a Jonathan Dwyer.

Think back to the December 2018 loss to the Saints. We all remember JuJu Smith-Schuster’s fumble and the questionable PI calls.

But everyone forgets Stevan Ridley’s fumble. On third down. When the Steelers were leading. And in position for Chris Boswell to put them up by 7. In a game they lost at the buzzer by 3…..

Once again, Pittsburgh stung itself with poor backfield depth, only this time it kept them out of the playoffs just when the entire team was gelling and the championship window was still cracked open. (Rolling your eyes? Go back to the win against the Patriots the week before.)

Drafting Benny Snell signaled Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert had learned.

Had they learned sooner, some things might have been different.

3. Injuries, Suspensions, Drama and Divas

The Steelers beat the Bengals in 2015 Wild Card in no small part due to the efforts of Ryan Shazier and Martavis Bryant. Their performances signaled that two additional two championship-caliber defensive and offensive weapons had arrived in Pittsburgh.

Alas, Bryant’s off the field problems and discipline issues combined with Shazier’s tragic injury scuttled that promise.

Ryan Shazier, Ryan Shazier injury, Ryan Shazier contract, Ryan Shazier 5th year tender, Ryan Shazier contract

Ryan Shazier. Photo Credit: Aaron Doster, USA TODAY via BTSC

Neither Art Rooney II, nor Kevin Colbert nor Mike Tomlin can be faulted here.

  • The trio does deserve fault for how they reacted to those twin misfortunes.

At inside linebacker the Steelers tried low and high-priced free agents, draft picks, multiple trades and trading up and drafting and perhaps still hasn’t secured a certain long-term starter there.

To their credit, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin recognized the red flags in their wide receiver room and aggressively addressed the position through the draft.

If their strategy was sound then their execution leads us to another problem….

4. Whiffing on Drafts

The Steelers used a succession of 2nd round draft picks in response to Bryant’s antics, Sammie Coates’ erratic behavior and Antonio Brown becoming unglued in plain sight.

They picked a good player in JuJu Smith Schuster, and a solid character yet underachiever in James Washington. Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and George Pickens all flashed at times, yet all three had to be traded away due to discipline issues.

Four years have passed since JuJu played his last down in Pittsburgh and the Steelers still haven’t drafted a long-term starter at wide receiver.

  • Worse yet, wide receiver is hardly the only position the Steelers have whiffed on in the draft.

Take a look at the Steelers 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 drafts and you’ll find that the Steelers have drafted precisely two long-term starters, one for each side of the ball: Alex Highsmith and Pat Freiermuth. (For comparison’s sake, the Steelers 2011 and 2012 draft classes netted 3 long-term starters.)

Kenny Pickett, George Pickens, Steelers vs Raiders, Immaculate Reception 50th anniversary

Kenny Pickett and George Pickens after the Go Ahead Touchdown in the Immaculate Reception Game. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review.

Some of these drafts were better than others. In some cases, the Steelers found players who were started or played as key backups throughout their rookie contracts. That’s a “win” from a Money Ball perspective.

But collectively they formed a group of players who played well enough to win more than they lost in the regular season but got immediately outclassed in the playoffs.

Of course the biggest draft mistake the Steelers made was in the players they passed on…

5. Being Unprepared When Big Ben Struck Midnight

Art Rooney II began the 2026 season by reaffirming the franchise’s goal is to win instead of “wasting a year not trying to compete.”

  • This is the exact message everyone must hear from the head of the franchise.

Art Rooney II had 3 chances to embrace a “clean reset” and opted to field the best team possible instead. Rooney made the right move.

Ben Roethlisberger and Art Rooney II embrace after Big Ben's final game at Heinz Field in January 2022.

Ben Roethlisberger, Art Rooney II and One last dance @ Heinz Field. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Nor does the tandem of Colbert and Tomlin deserve undue criticism for missing on Kenny Pickett – After all, Chuck Noll and Art Rooney, Jr. went Terry Bradshaw and Mark Malone with their two first round quarterbacks.

Yet, the franchise still missed on chances to take swings at Roethlisberger’s replacement prior to Big Ben striking midnight. Circumstantial evidence suggests (see Jim Wexell’s reporting) that Mike Tomlin wanted to take Lamar Jackson in 2018.

But if that was his plan, he gambled by drafting Terrell Edmunds first, expecting Jackson would be there later. He wasn’t. The Steelers also had a shot at taking Jalen Hurts in the 2020 draft. They chose Chase Claypool instead.

Pulling off a Joe Montana–Steve Young or Brett Favre–Aaron Rodgers handoff is only slightly less rare than seeing Haley’s Comet.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, as the Steelers are still finding out.

6. Tomlin’s Struggles with Hiring Solid Assistant Coaches

Here’s a classic case of “both things can be true.”

  1. Mike Tomlin’s record with assistant coach hires is more mixed than people credit him for.
  2. Identifying, recruiting and developing rising coaching talent was his greatest weakness.

Click here for a deeper discussion Mike Tomlin’s struggles with hiring assistant coaches.

The only additional observation to add here is this: This was a Tomlin weakness from the beginning, and not one he ever addressed — he had a better staff on the sidelines for the AFC Championship loss than he did for his final loss to the Texans.

7. Missing Dan Rooney?

Dan Rooney died shortly after the AFC Championship loss to the Patriots and the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since….

Dan Rooney, Dan Rooney legacy, Dan Rooney Lombardi Trophies, Dan Rooney obituary

Dan Rooney sitting in front of the Steelers 5 Lombardi Trophies. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

…If the conclusion seems obvious, it shouldn’t be. Correlation does not equal causality. Had social media existed in the 80’s, you could have easily found fans complaining “Dan Rooney is lost now that ‘The Chief’ is only a figurehead.”

  • And they would have been wrong.

Still, looking back, it doesn’t take too great of a stretch of the imagination to envision Dan Rooney’s wisdom guiding the franchise to better outcomes.

  • It is an unanswerable question, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to ask.

Because the Steelers entered the second half of the Mike Tomlin era with every reason to believe another Super Bowl run was coming. Instead, their championship window quietly closed.

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6 Quickish Hits on Mike McCarthy’s Intro as Steelers Head Coach

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As it turns out, new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy may have “won” his opening press conference – perhaps Art Rooney II’s worries on that front were in vain. Rooney introduced McCarthy as the franchise’s 17th head coach on Tuesday, January 27th out the South Side 125 years to the day after his grandfather and franchise founder Art Rooney Sr. was born.

The Rooney’s decision to hire McCarthy has not been a popular one in Steelers Nation – although it is easy to imagine the fan outrage for “sticking to the template” that would have followed had Rooney II hired Chris Shula instead.

Be that as it may, there’s no denying that hearing a Steelers coach, talk Steelers football with a distinct Pittsburgh accent resonates with something deep in the soul.

With that understood, McCarthy will and should be judged by how he does on the field, not how strongly he presented his yinzer credentials to the press. So here are a few quick takeaways.

Mike McCarthy, Art Rooney II, Omar Khan, Mike McCarthy opening press conference

Art Rooney II and Omar Khan bookend Mike McCarthy. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

1. McCarthy Wants Rodgers Back

Art Rooney II has said he’s open to Aaron Rodgers coming back, and Mike McCarthy made it clear he welcome his former signal caller back with open arms. While McCarthy declined to put a deadline on a decision from Rodgers, Rooney had made it clear in interviews with the press that the franchise will need a decision before free agency.

2. McCarthy is Focused on Training

Mike McCarthy began his career as an NFL head coach in 2006. A lot has changed since then. Two-a-day training camp practices were a given then. The Oklahoma drill was a rite of passage. Coaches could run padded practices when they wanted to late in the year.

  • Today those are relics of a bygone era.

McCarthy has plugged himself into those changes, and went as far (in the context of so many playoff games being decided in the 4th quarter) “you almost have to reengineer how you want your team to train.”

As a “practice makes perfect” person, this is a refreshing take. When she wrote for Behind the Steel Curtain, Rebecca Rollett explored the impact that reduced practice time might have on a teams after the adoption of the 2011 CBA.

Mike Tomlin took the 2016 Steelers to the AFC Championship, so he obviously was able to adjust to the change, but it is good to know that McCarthy is focused on making the best use of training/practice time.

Steelers St. Vincents, Steelers training camp, Steelers Latrobe

For the 1st time in 54 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will not hold training camp at St. Vincents, in Latrobe. Photo Credit: WPXI

Along those lines, a lot of his comments seemed to relate to physical training, and if the Steelers can do anything to condition themselves to even slightly reduce soft-tissue injuries, it will give them a competitive advantage.

3. McCarthy Is Into Trends

Look at the transcript of his press conference and McCarthy’s use of “trends” pops out at you. He mentioned it several times. If memory serves, in his opening press conference, Mike Tomlin talked about being a “fundamentalist” and throughout his tenure focused (at least in public comments) on execution over scheme.

McCarthy’s focus on “trends” could simply be a different means to reach a similar end, but the contrast stood out.

4. Wearing It on His Sleeve. And Then Some.

Chuck Noll was cerebral. OK, watch the tape of the 1989 Steelers upset of the Oilers in the AstroDome and you’ll see the Emperor drop many an F-bomb. But no one would ever accuse Chuck Noll of “wearing his emotions on sleeve.” (Well, Jerry Glanville might, but that’s another story.)

Bill Cowher, 1992 Steelers

Bill Cowher in 1992. Photo Credit: thisisopus.com

In contrast, I don’t think Bill Cowher was capable of holding emotions back. In answering questions on his book Dawn of a New Steel Age Ed Bouchette remarked about Cowher, “He had a range of emotions and did not hide them.”

Tomlin on the other hand was more cerebral. Yes, was certainly more reactive than Chuck Noll on the sidelines, but he had nothing of the intensity of Bill Cowher.

  • Mike McCarthy choked up and outright cried at multiple points during his press conference.

So it looks like the Steelers brass opted for another expressive coach.

5. Three Is a Crowd?

Art Rooney, Omar Khan AND Mike McCarthy were all on stage for the press conference, which was held at Acrisure Stadium. Tomlin took his alone, and based on the photos so did Bill Cowher.

At the end of the day, it probably signals nothing, but it was unexpected nonetheless.

6. “Local Boy Does Good” Narrative Nice. But It Has Limits…

Mike McCarthy clearly is of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh is of him.

Per Andrew Bryant, he introduced himself in Green Bay in his first interview there as a “Pittsburgh guy.” Given that the roots of the sport of football run deeply into Western Pennsylvania that reality carries some weight.

By the look of it, his family still resides Pittsburgh. One can guess he’s been back quite a bit since his NFL journey took him around the league. Its no secret that many people from McCarthy’s generation and his parents’ generation have left Pittsburgh.

  • And a lot more left thinking they’d return one day than actual returned.

As anyone who left Pittsburgh, or as in my case is from a family whose parents left Pittsburgh, the idea of coming back to take the reigns of one of the city’s most iconic institutions is over-powering.

J&L Steel, Pittsburgh

J&L steel in 1967. Image via PG Interactive

And there’s no shame in McCarthy showing it, nor is there anything wrong with the Steelers PR machine showcasing that side of the story.

It is easy to say “…Well, I don’t remember them doing this when BILL COWHER came back to Pittsburgh.” No they didn’t. And my first look at Bill Cowher came from a discarded copy of the USA Today that a roommate had left on the floor of a college dorm in Baltimore, Maryland a day or so after he was hired.

My first view of McCarthy hire came when my cellphone started beeping thanks to the Mexican Steelers WhatsApp groups I’m part while I was sweeping up dust in my apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina…. Digital communication has change our world in ways we are no longer concious of.

  • So its fine for McCarthy and fine for the team to lean into “local boy comes home” narrative.

As long as they remember that what will make that story special isn’t the return of the local boy, but what he does on the football field following his arrival.

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Like or Not… Steelers Hire Mike McCarthy as Head Coach

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Like or not, the Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Mike McCarthy as their next head coach.

McCarthy, the Pittsburgh native returns to the Steel City after sitting out a year following his dismissal as the Dallas Cowboys head coach following the 2024 season. Prior to that, McCarthy had coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018, leading them to a Super Bowl win over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in 2010.

Mike McCarthy, Mike Tomlin, Steelers vs Packers

The old Steelers coach and the new Steelers coach. Photo Credit: AP, Tribune Review

In addition to beating the Steelers in the Super Bowl, McCarthy beat them in 2024 with the Cowboys and in 2021 with the Packers.

  • So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Right?

I guess that’s how it works. One thing is for sure, Art Rooney II stuck to his word when he said he wasn’t looking to follow the same template his father and he followed in selecting Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin.

  • McCarthy has an offensive background and he is not young, coming in at age 63.

The move is perplexing in a lot of ways, except perhaps for one.

Rooney, the Rosters and Perhaps Rodgers?

Credit Art Rooney II with something from the get go: He’s not willing to mail it in for a season for the sake of draft position. Seriously. Credit him for that.

As the Fantasy Football and Social Media General Manager mentalities have contaminated the conversation around professional football, the idea that losing is good for the sake of improving draft position has a lot of currency.

Who can forget (and who really debate the wisdom of) “Suck for Luck?”

One of the biggest arguments against retaining Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh has been, “He’s too good for his own sake. He coaxes out 9 and 10 win seasons out of talent that should only win 6 or 7 games so the Steelers are always drafting in the 20’s….”

  • The argument’s appealing on paper.
  • Probably was worked for many a Fantasy Football owner.

Yeah, well the Chicago Bears have drafted in the single digits for most of the last 10 years, and it’s taken them multiple head coaches, multiple general managers and multiple first-round quarterbacks to field a winning team that looks like it could be a sustainable contender.

Looked at through this lens the Steelers Mike McCarthy becomes easier to understand.

  • He’s got 18 years of coaching experience and logged 174 wins.

He’s won in Green Bay, a stable franchise, and he’s posted 3 back-to-back 12 win seasons in Dallas, where Jerry Jones takes pride in meddling.

A simple way to interpret Art Rooney II’s decision to hire McCarthy is a vote of confidence in the Steelers current roster. For all of the talk about the age of the Steelers roster, a good chunk of that is coming from Cam Heyward and Aaron Rodgers pulling up the average.

They also appear to have a good core of young, talent that’s still has plenty of upside (even if the loss to the Texans made clear that the offensive line needs more time to mature.) Clearly, the Steelers need to bolster their wide receiving corps and stabilize their secondary.

But the idea that they have a roster, outside of the quarterback position, that can win in the near future is plausible, even if it is not necessarily probable.

  • But the Steelers lack a quarterback.

McCarthy has a good track record with quarterbacks, but unless McCarthy is truly a magician, Mason Rudolph and Will Howard don’t exactly channel the 2026 version of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

Ah, yes, Aaron Rodgers. When he was with the Jets, he reportedly said he would continue playing for McCarthy. Perhaps this improves his chances of returning.

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Ravens

Aaron Rodgers Runs it In. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, Steelers.com

If so, the Steelers should welcome the prospect — Rodgers is clearly better than any quarterback to suit up since Ben Roethlisberger retired….

…But one would have to hope that 73 year-old Art Rooney II didn’t hire a 63-year-old coach with the hope of tempting a 43-year-old quarterback to play for one more year.

Must Be McCarthy, Then Why Now?

The timing of the Steelers decision is also a head-scratcher. The Los Angeles Rams have two candidates that the Steelers interviewed coaching in the NFC Championship game. Both are highly regarded.

Why not at least wait until the game is over and maybe have a shot at interviewing them in person? Its not like anyone was beating down the door to hire McCarthy before the Steelers could.

As Alan Saunders argues, the decision to pull the trigger on McCarthy now, represents a process breakdown at a minimum.

So, the Mike McCarthy Era of Steelers Football Begins…

Like it or not, Mike McCarthy is now head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s the first coaching-retread the franchise hired since Art Rooney Sr. brought Bubby Parker to Pittsburgh in the late 50’s.

McCarthy’s track record suggest that he brings a certain floor to the Steelers in terms of ensuring an ability to contend. But the fear here, as well as parts elsewhere is that he also might come with a ceiling.

In picking Mike McCarthy, might be breaking from precedent established with the last three coaching hires, but he’s clearly also opting against striking out in a bold, new direction.

Art Rooney II grew up watching his grandfather badly run a football team and then got to see his father excel at running a football team. He’s been an NFL executive since the Steelers 1992 season. He’s actively participated in 2 head coaching searches that have resulted in 4 Super Bowl appearances and brought 2 Lombardi’s back to Pittsburgh.

  • Clearly he knows “a little bit” more than I do about what makes a good NFL head coach and how to identify one.

I sincerely hope that he’s right about McCarthy and that I and the rest of the skeptics are wrong.

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Steelers 2025 Draft Class – Khan and Tomlin Play the Long Game

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It took 7 picks, 3 days 2 trades but the Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Draft Class is now complete.

For the record, the Steelers made 5 defensive picks and two offensive picks, but reading between the lines, it is more likely the case that they made 3 defensive picks, 2 offensive picks, and two special teams picks.

Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Draft Class

Via Steelers.com

As always, Steel Curtain Rising will ignore the rush to affix a grade to the Steelers 2025 Draft Class, although we’ve already learned something important:

  • Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin are playing the long game.

We’ll get into that in a moment, but first, let’s take a look at the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers

First Round: Derrick Harmon, Defensive Tackle, Oregon
Third Round: Kaleb Johnson, Running Back, Iowa
Fourth Round: Jack Sawyer, Outside Linebacker, Ohio State
Fifth Round: Yaha Black, Defensive Tackle, Iowa
Sixth Round: Will Howard, Quarterback, Ohio State
Seventh Round: Carson Bruener, Inside Linebacker, Washington
Seventh Round: Donte Kent, Cornerback/Punt Returner, Central Michigan

As Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin have been quick to point out, although he’s not a member of the Steelers 2025 Draft Class strictly speaking, D.K. Metcalf came to Pittsburgh by way of their 2nd round pick. And he certainly figures to make an immediate impact.

What the Steelers 2025 Draft Class Already Teaches Us

Same day draft grades are about as relevant as opening day batting averages. It will take years before we really how much value, or lack thereof this draft will deliver to the Steelers. (Case in point the Steelers 2016 and 1989 Draft classes both looked very good in January 2017 and 1989, but after that, not so much).

But there are a few lessons we can already take aways:

1. Khan and Tomlin Tune Out the Noise

Having been spurned by Justin Fields and having spurned Russell Wilson while waiting on Aaron Rodgers, quarterback was the Steelers biggest need heading into the draft.

But, reports to the contrary from both the national and local press, it is clear that the Steelers never considered addressing it in the first round.

Nor were they in a hurry to do so afterwards. Armed with a potential 4 compensatory picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, Khan could have dealt away a couple-of-three 4th, 3rd and 2nd round picks from next year to move up into the second round or earlier in the third round to get a quarterback. Not only did he not do that, but the Steelers waited until the 6th round to get their signal caller.

You don’t wait to draft a quarterback until the 6th round if you plan on playing him in the coming season. Both Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II indicated they still expect Aaron Rodgers to sign, but the Steelers are perfectly content to address their long-term need at quarterback in 2026.

Meanwhile, they focused on adding value while preserving draft capital – the only trade the Khan artist made was to move back in the 5th get an extra 7th.

2. The Ridiculing from the Ravens Still Stings

While the Steelers are playing the long game, that doesn’t mean they’re being short-sighted. They drafted three players whose pedigree as run defenders is strong. Derrick Henry reduced the Steelers defense to road kill, and the Steelers brain trust has not reacted that sitting down.

This goes hand-in-hand with playing the long game.

With T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, outside linebacker was anything but a Steelers draft need in 2025. Yet Kahn and Tomlin scooped up Jack Sawyer, an outside linebacker from Ohio State.

Sawyer’s specialty? Stopping the run. And if you’re questioning whether he can do that from so far down in the depth chart, keep in mind that Preston Smith played in 30% of the Steelers defensive snaps last season.

Its doubtful that the rookie will match that, but it does show that OLB No. 4 does have a role in this defense.

3. Art Rooney Sr.’s Wisdom Remains as Valid as Ever

After the 2008 NFL Draft, Gene Coillier wrote a piece grading the Steelers 2003 Draft class, harking back to Chuck Noll’s credo that it took 5 years to grade a draft. In it he quoted Art Rooney Sr., who’d told him, “Everyone’s a winner on draft day.”

  • The Steelers were wise to beef up their run defense in this draft.
  • Harmon, Sawyer and Black should strengthen the front seven
  • Collectively, making an immediate difference is plausible

But as Steelers rival Bum Philips would remind us, “It ain’t bragging if you can do it, but just saying it don’t make it so.” You can address all of the potential problems you want to in the draft, but the players must deliver on the field.

Think back to where the Steelers were ten years ago. Turnovers had been in short supply in the Steelers 2014 season and really, since Super Bowl XLV. So the Steelers 2015 Draft Class saw them add Senquez Golson, Doran Grant and Gerod Holliman. The trio brought a collective total of 39 collegiate interceptions to Pittsburgh, with 29 of those coming in their final year in college.

  • Those college numbers impress.
  • These professional numbers depress: 3, 1 and 17

That’s 3 NFL games, 1 defensive snap and 17 special teams snaps, which make up the trios’ combined NFL stat line. All of these came from Doran Grant, as Holliman got cut in camp, while Senquez Golson saw his NFL career destroyed by injuries before it ever started.

The story of the Steelers 2015 draft class isn’t intended as buzz kill, but rather as a reminder that the watch word coming out of the draft should be patience.

Hopes are high now – as they should be – but more often than not, it takes time to realize those. Troy Polamalu looked lost his rookie year, by 2004 he was flashing Hall of Fame potential. Going into his third season, more than a few fans were ready to hang the “B” word around Cam Heyward’s neck; well, we know how that turned out.

The point is, if by the time the leaves are changing color and Halloween decorations are going up and Derrick Harmon isn’t dominating or Kaleb Johnson isn’t looking his name should be Franco Bettis, don’t panic.

4. Everyone IS a winner on draft day, and that’s good.

Art Rooney Sr. was right – everyone IS a winner on draft day, and that’s a good thing. The NFL draft is about hope. Hope for franchises. Hope for the scouts and coaches. Hope for the fans.

  • And most importantly, hope for the players.

Last week Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin made a dream come true for 7 young men, giving them something they’ve aspired to since they first put their hands on a Nerf football and barked out a bogus snap count as kids.

The moment is theirs – for Derrick Harmon it certainly is bittersweet – but as a draft class I hope they enjoy it.

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Steelers Last Win in Philly Gave Mike Nixon 15 Minutes of Fame

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Sunday December 15th, Mike Tomlin will attempt something that neither Bill Austin, nor Chuck Noll nor Bill Cowher ever did:

  • Lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory on the road in Philadelphia.

While Philly fans are loyal, there’s no question that when it comes to Pennsylvania’s two football teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the Keystone State’s 800-pound gorilla. The Steelers lead the Lombardi count 6 to 1 and have appeared in the Super Bowl 8 times compared to 3.

And of course the Steelers lead the Eagles in other measures such as games won since the NFL-AFL merger, division titles, playoff appearances, wins etc. And the Steelers count on a nationwide, no, global fan base.

  • That’s great. But the Eagles OWN the Steelers when they play in Philly.

The last time the Steelers won a game in Philadelphia was at Franklin Field on Sunday, October 24, 1965 during Mike Nixon’s lone season as coach. 21,602 days have passed since the Steelers clocked that milestone, in case you really, really want to know.

The Steelers are 0-10 in at Philadelphia since 1965, but it isn’t just their 59 year losing streak in the City of Brotherly Love:

  • Bad things happen when the Steelers play in Philly.

In 1997 alone, a trip to Philadelphia marked the end of Greg Lloyd’s Steelers career. Heck, the last time the Steelers quarterback threw touchdown pass in Philly was when Kordell Stewart connected with Will Blackwell. (The drubbing the Steelers suffered in Philadelphia 2022 saw Chase Claypool throw a TD to Derek Watt, but Claypool isn’t a QB.)

Much Has Changed Since the Steelers Last Win in Philly

A lot has changed since Steelers last win in the City of Brotherly Love.

Their last win came 360 days before my older sister was born (she’s a Ravens fan, but we still love her just the same) so suffice to say I have no memory. And although my parents were newlyweds living in Pittsburgh in 1965, they’re not much for sports so its no use asking them.

  • But thanks to the Magic of Google Newspaper Archives, we can glimpse of what it was like then.

In 1965, man on the moon was more fiction than science. In fact, the headline of October 25th Pittsburgh Press tells us that the Gemini Mission has been Scrubbed as Agenda Fails. The Post-Gazette led with Gemini story too. Except the Post-Gazette tells us Gemini Launching, Space Docking a ‘Go.’

The first Gemini Space rendezvous occurred later that December, but it was supposed to happen in October. (The lesson then, as it is now, is that you need to read beyond the headlines.)

Just below that story, the Post Gazette tells us that UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson is off to Rhodesia for talks with the white settler government who was vying for independence. “Rhodesia” is now best known (at least in Argentina) as a chocolate bar, and the country in question is Zimbabwe.

The Pittsburgh Press devotes about a 1/3 of its front page to Vietnam coverage, and talks about the record low 25- degree temperature Pittsburgh experienced that weekend. It also informs us that the Civic Arena turned its first profit for the first time since it opened in 1961.

Digging into the Post-Gazette you see that Giant Eagle is selling Roast Pork Butt for 49 cents per pound. The same add tells us that a 9 oz package of Scallops would set you back 89 cents.

Not to be out done, A&P is selling “Long Bologna” for 49 cents a pound and Jane Parker Large Apple Pie for 39 cents (normally it would have cost 49 cents, the ad assures us). In between the two adds, you learn that you could have bought a Polaroid Swinger Camera for $19.95.

Yes, times have changed. But has enough changed for the Steelers to recapture some of that 1965 magic?

Mikey Nixon’s 15 Minutes of Fame

Art Rooney Sr. was notoriously bad at hiring head coaches. Yet even he knew Mike Nixon wasn’t the man for the job. After Dan Rooney accepted/forced Buddy Parker’s resignation during the 1965 preseason, Art Rooney reportedly called Nixon, told him he was going to offer him the job but encouraged him to reject it because he wasn’t ready.

Nixon ignored The Chief’s advice, accepted the job and then preceded to lose his first five games as Steelers head coach. Game six brought the Steelers to Philly, and thus began Mike Nixon’s 15 Minutes of Fame.

  • The Steelers beat the Eagles that day, 20 to 14.
Jim Bradshaw,

1960’s Steelers safety Jim Bradshaw. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

But by the look of the box score, it was an UGLY win. Quarterback Bill Nelsen went 6 of 16 for 79 yards. Running back Mike Lind also got 16 carries, managing 30 yards, but he did catch 2 passes for 11 yards including a touchdown.

The highlight of the day, and one would presume the season, came in the 2nd quarter when safety Jim Bradshaw returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown, which was one of 3 picks for a total of 101 yards.

The Steelers would win again the next week 22 to 13 over the Dallas Cowboys back at Pitt Stadium. So Mike Nixon can hang his hat on the fact that he’s one of the very few head coaches who went undefeated against Tom Landry during his career.

Alas, after beating Landry, Mike Nixon’s Steelers lost their next 7 games finishing the season 2-12, and Nixon got fired.

Nixon did enough to impress Eagles coach Joe Kuharich, who hired him as an assistant coach, giving Nixon three years of gainful employment before he faded into a footnote in Steelers history.

  • Can Mike Tomlin repeat Mike Nixon’s success in Philly?

He faces long odds. The Eagles take a 9 game winning streak into this game, and look to be a lock for berth in the NFC Championship.

But Russell Wilson is 4-0 playing in Philadelphia, including a playoff win. And I’ll wager Russell Wilson will pass for more than 79 yards and Najee Harris will run for more than 30 (well, he’d better.)

Who knows? Maybe Fitzpatrick can stir up a little “Minkah Magic” and produce an 82 yard pick six. If he can, the Steelers stand a strong chance of taking an 11-3 record into their next game against the Ravens in Baltimore.

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Film Review: Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier

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In the fall of 1980 I was a third grader at Harmony Hills Elementary School endowed with the belief that the Pittsburgh Steelers were destined for One For the Thumb. The logic behind my thinking that Queen had written “We Are the Champions” for the Steelers was infallible – the Steelers were the champions. In an 8 year old’s mind, “were” communicated both past and future as well as present status.

Rocky Bleier, Terry Bradshaw, Rocky Bleier comeback

Terry Bradshaw hands off to Rocky Bleier. Photo Credit:

So when ABC started running clips promoting Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier they had me hooked. Rocky Bleier wasn’t my favorite Steeler, that would have been Terry Bradshaw or Lynn Swann, but after my grandpa Bill saw me with a Steelers hat on a asked me if I was “Rocky Bleier,” Rocky shot up on my list.

There was one problem: It aired on Sunday night (December 7th to be exact), and it would end well past my bedtime. Now mom and dad were somewhat flexible about letting us stay up to watch stuff , but on this occasion, my mom wouldn’t budge.

  • She let me watch up until the first commercial break, but then it was off to bed.

She promised me it would be on again in the summer as a rerun and I’d be able to see it then. ABC probably did show it again, but if they did, I was never aware of it.

While I never forgot, I never gave it too much thought. Until one day in an on-line chat while he was still at the Post-Gazette, a reader ask Ed Bouchette about the movie, and he responded with something like, “There are a lot of good sports movies out there, but the Rocky Bleier one isn’t one of them.”

  • Someone else in the chat mentioned that the full movie was on YouTube.

Hum… This had potential. Obviously it took awhile, but two nights ago, with my wife off to Budapest I decided to finish what I started 16,059 days ago – Watch the rest of Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier.

And here is my review. Let’s cut to the chase:

My mother is a wise woman. She was right to send me to bed.

Let’s be clear, the movie has its moments. Robert Urich turns in a strong performance as Rocky Bleier. Art Carney does a believable impression of Art Rooney, Sr. who also narrates the story. And I suppose Richard Herd does a respectable job as Chuck Noll, given that Noll was every bit as inscrutable then has is now.

  • Several of the Super Steelers got to play themselves.

So it’s really cool to see the locker room banter between Joe Greene, Dwight White, Gary Dunn, Bennie Cunningham and others. You almost get a fly on the wall feeling. The story’s opening is also strong – and I’m surprised at just how much I detail I remembered of what I’d seen as an eight-year-old.

The Vietnam sequence, given the production standards for a 1970’s made for TV movie is also up to par.

  • But the story really does break down after Belier’s combat injury.

Instead of focusing on Rocky’s herculean and heroic rehabilitation and recovery, it leans hard into the romance between him and his future wife Aleta. I suppose the basics of how they met, when Aleta was married to someone else, and how they reconnected after her divorce are true.

But the actual plot that involves their courting and her agreeing marry Bleier is too predictable and “Ollywood” to the core (“Ollywood” pronounced ‘O-she-wood’ is an Argentine Spanish pronunciation of “Hollywood” that my wife and I revert to whenever something becomes too cliché.)

Seriously. If anyone who’d seen oh, say a couple of three, Hollywood TV productions from the 1970’s could have predicted their story arc and probably scripted much of the dialogue.

SPOILER ALERT: Not only does their romance wax and wane, but in the movie, Bleier’s doubts about their future haunt him all the way to the day before Super Bowl IX. Seriously. The other players pick up on it and start to worry as does Art Rooney. Rooney pulls him aside for a private chat, but Rocky continues to brood and sulk…

…Until suddenly and unexpectedly, the night before the game Aleta appears and all is well.

  • That’s a shame from a critical perspective.

Because Rocky Bleier is a true American hero with an incredible story that inspires everyone. The plot could have and should have been woven around his struggles with rehab and subsequent comeback.

As Andy Russell details in a Steeler Odyssey, Bleier suffered several set backs and there were multiple moments when his football career would have ended had he been anyone else or been playing for any other team.

And while the movie does draw parallels between Rocky’s finding his form as a football player and the evolution of the Steelers Dynasty, this is what should be the central focus of the story.

With a touch of clever script crafting, they could have molded the narrative so that the story’s football climax was Rocky Bleier’s touchdown catch and on sides kick recovery in Super Bowl XIII.

So be it. Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier is a product of its times and overall is above average for a 1970’s made for TV movie.

Fortunately, its freely available (as of 12/24) on YouTube – complete with O.J. Simpson Hertz commercials and promos for shows like Eight is Enough and Hart to Hart.

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The 1988 Steelers Season: The Year I Re-Found My Faith in the Black and Gold

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The 1988 Steelers finished 5-11. That’s a franchise worst since Chuck Noll’s 1969 inaugural 1-13 campaign. Just how bad were they? Consider:

  • Dan Rooney openly decried “stupid plays”
  • Chuck Noll quipped that they would struggle against a grade school team
  • Cornell Gowdy started 14 games at strong safety and disappeared from the NFL
  • David Little and Rod Woodson were co-MVPs… on the 28th ranked defense

Yet the 1988 Steelers will always hold a special place in my heart, because that’s the season I re-forged my faith in the Black and Gold.

Bubby Brister, Chuck Noll, Bubby Brister super tecmo bowl raiting, Steelers 1988

Chuck Noll and Bubby Brister. Photo Credit: Mike Powell, Getty Images

A Steelers Fan Confesses to “Youthful Indiscretion”

I grew up in the 70’s in Maryland outside of DC, the child of two “Pittsburgh Expats” who weren’t serious Steelers fans. Sure, we went all in for the Super Bowls, and Steelers jackets, shirts, hats, scarfs, gloves were glued to me through elementary school.

  • As the 70’s faded into the mid-80’s I began to stray.

Washington’s first Joe Gibbs era was underway and, honestly, all things being equal, I’d have probably traded Black for Burgundy and “converted” to the home team.

  • But my older brother did convert.

Thanks to sibling rivalry, rooting for the then Redskins was out of the question.

Rooting for the Steelers was hard because there was so little news on them. What did filter down made it clear that the Pittsburgh was pretty mediocre.

But I still liked football. And I longed for a team that could thwart either Washington or San Francisco’s quest to break the Super Steelers records.

So I’d get behind the Bears and/or Giants and even hoped Buffalo would develop to the point where they’d fit the bill (pun intended.) That changed in 1987. I’d reached high school and that’s when guys got serious about sports. I needed a skin in the game at both the lunch table and inside the locker room

  • And there was no question: The Pittsburgh Steelers were my team.

Still, I didn’t follow the ’87 Steelers closely. And in Super Bowl XXII I backed the Denver Broncos. What followed was one blissful quarter and then dejection as Doug Williams authored perhaps the most incredible 15 minutes in football history.

The lesson was clear: Never trust in another set of colors that wasn’t Black and Gold.

1988 – Going All In on the Steelers

The Steelers actually started 1988 on a high note.

The ’87 Steelers had finished 8-7 overall and 6-6 in non-strike games despite starting quarterback Mark Malone’s 46.4 passer rating. Tony Dungy’s opportunistic defense had scored 5 touchdowns. Even Joe Greene was back in Pittsburgh as defensive line coach.

Joe Greene, Joe Greene Steelers assistant coach

Joe Greene during his time as defensive line coach. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

The Steelers began the off-season by committing to moving on from Malone, and thus began my days of scouring the Washington Post sports section for any hint of news. The Steelers shipped Malone off to San Diego for an 8th round pick, flirted with trading for Jack Trudeau with the Colts (Indy also wanted Louis Lipps – killing the deal), until finally bringing in Todd Blackledge.

The pundits pronounced the Steelers as winners in 1988 NFL Draft, and I drank the Aaron Jones Kool aid, thinking his prediction of 20 sacks was realistic. Chuck Noll declared that winning in preseason was important to him and on cue, the Steelers went 3-1.

  • Then Steelers Nation lost Art Rooney Sr. on August 25, 1988.

While Pittsburgh lost one of its finest citizens, viewed from a 16-year-old’s eyes the Chief’s passing also seemed to signal the start of a new era on the field.

The Steelers 1988 Season – Opening a New Era with a Win Over and Old Foe

And so it was on September 4th 1988 that the Pittsburgh Steelers would play their first game ever without Art Rooney, Sr. against the Dallas Cowboys. Rookie quarterback Bubby Brister won his first start as Earnest Jackson scored two touchdowns giving Chuck Noll his final win over Tom Landry.

A glance at the Post’s Sports section revealed that wins by Cleveland, Cincinnati and Houston had created a four-way tie in the division. The AFC Central would be tough, it seemed, but the Steelers seemed well-positioned to make a run.

  • Or so this naïve 16-year-old thought.

Week 2 brought the Steelers to Washington to face the defending Super Bowl Champions. The game set the tone for the rest of the season.

The ’88 Steelers lost to the defending Super Bowl champions by 30 to 29 as Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams threw for over 400 yards. It is tempting see the close score and conclude that Steelers combined a lucky turnover with a few garbage time scores to make the outcome look a lot closer than it really was.

  • The opposite is actually true.

The ’88 Steelers actually went toe-to-toe with Washington, as Brister and Louis Lipps hooked up to burn Darrell Green for an 80-yard touchdown early. Brister did it again by connecting with Dwight Stone for a late 72 yard score. Brister ran for a score of his own, but Harry Newsome bobbled a snap costing Pittsburgh an extra point. (Video courtesy of Steel City Star.)

That extra point didn’t seem to mean much as the Steelers held a 9 point lead going into the 4th quarter, but alas, the defense couldn’t hold as Williams led Washington to not one, but two scores.

That formula repeated itself throughout the season as the loss at RFK started the Steelers on a six-game losing streak.

Nothing went right for Pittsburgh. Bubby Brister got hurt and coaches couldn’t choose between Todd Blackledge and Steve Bono as a replacement. It didn’t matter. Both were terrible. Harry Newsome suffered four blocked punts of his six blocked punts during the steak.

As the losses mounted, pundits demanded that Chuck Noll step aside. Things reached a fever pitch in week 8 as Terry Bradshaw joined the chorus.

The Steelers responded by exploding for a 39 to 21 win over the Denver Broncos that included six Gary Anderson field goals and 2 Rodney Carter touchdowns. Rod Woodson led the defense with 10 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. The day also saw Greg Lloyd’s first start and first ejection.

Carter, who rushed for over 100 yards, also completed a halfback option pass. When reporters quizzed Noll about this, he quipped that he’d gotten the idea in a letter from a fan.

  • The win over the defending AFC Champions, failed to morph into a midseason rally.
Bubby Brister, Reggie Williams, Craig Wolfley, Merril Hoge, Steelers vs Bengals Riverfront Stadium

Reggie Williams sacks Bubby Brister. Photo Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer

The 1988 Steelers lost their next four games. The Bengals demolished them 42 to 7. The Steelers hit rock bottom in the mud at Cleveland Stadium the week before Thanksgiving as Newsome suffered another blocked punt and Mike Webster sailed one snap well above Newsome’s head and another came in so low that Newsome couldn’t handle it.

That left the Steelers in the thick of the Aikman derby i.e. the right to draft Troy Aikman. The only question was whether Pittsburgh had hit rock bottom.

Thanksgiving Interlude as Steelers Sit @ 2-10

Dan Rooney was not happy. He grabbed Ed Bouchette pf the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in the coffee room and declared, “I want to get it across that I’m not taking this situation alright.”

The story went “viral,” or at least it was picked up by the Washington Post, and it certainly caught the attention of the young 16-year-old whose daily highlight came at about 6:45 in the morning when the Post had something on the Steelers.

Rooney minced no words, explaining to Bouchette, “I don’t think we can say all is well and good. At times [Sunday] we played alright, but stupid plays took us out of the game.” Rooney then criticized Noll’s decision to punt on 4th and a foot at Cleveland’s 44. And of course he was not happy with the punting errors.

Having grown up outside of Pittsburgh I was unacquainted with just how unique the Rooneys were. So the most part, the uncharacteristic nature of Rooney’s frankness went over my head.

I was at least as focused Rooney’s observations that “At times we played alright,” and “I think we have some pretty good players” and his assertion that the 1988 Steelers were better than their 2-10 record.

That’s what the 16 year-old in me had seen from Monday morning newspaper summaries and ESPN NFL PrimeTime clips. The losses to Cincinnati and Cleveland had been ugly sure, but the Steelers had led against the Jets and Buddy Ryan’s Eagles until losing at the very end, just as they done at Washington. Earlier in the season, after recovering not one but two on sides kicks, they’d given the Bills a run for their money too.

Add those should haves, could haves and might haves together, and that would transform the Steelers record from 2-10 to 6-6.

Offensive mainstays such as Earnest Jackson and Frank Pollard had been benched in favor of Merril Hoge and Warren Williams, with Hoge earning his first 100-yard game in the loss to the Jets. On the defensive side, Rod Woodson was already establish a Hall of Fame trajectory, Greg Lloyd was making a name for himself, as were fellow members of the Steelers 1987 draft class Hardy Nickerson and Thomas Everett.

  • While he never said it explicitly, those were the players Dan Rooney had been referring to.

But perhaps the one who was the most to that ’88 team was a player who hadn’t been on the field since week 4….

The 1988 Steelers “Unleash Hell in December”

History geeks will remember week 3 of the 1988 Steelers season as their near upset of the Bills. But the game also marked the first start of an unheralded 2nd round guard from Kentucky.

Unfortunately, that left guard injured his knee when his uncle Art Still fell on it, costing him the next 8 weeks of the season. Few noticed his absence.

  • But Chuck Noll noted his return as he made Dermontti Dawson his starting right guard coming out of Thanksgiving.

The Steelers opened December with a 16-10 win over the 3-9-1 Kansas City Chiefs. A week later they went down to the Astrodome and flipped the script of the season. (Video courtesy of Steel City Star.)

 

The a game that saw the lead change 10 times, saw both teams return kicks for touchdowns, while Bubby Brister connected with Louis Lipps for touchdowns of 80 and 65 yards. Finally, with the Steelers down 34 to 31, Bubby Brister capped off a 4th quarter comeback with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Merril Hoge.

A week later irony caught up with the Steelers, as Mark Malone who logged his final win in Pittsburgh a year earlier against the Chargers, led San Diego to a 20-14 win over the Steelers in his final start as an NFL quarterback.

The Steelers closed the 1988 season at Three Rivers Stadium, with Chuck Noll hosting his mentor Don Shula. Many wondered if it would be Noll’s final game in Pittsburgh. (IT did, in fact, turn out to be Mike Wester’s final game in Pittsburgh.)

  • Chuck Noll was never wont to pep talks, but he share before the game, “I re
    Mike Webster, Don Shula Steelers vs Dolphins 1988, Mike Webster last game Steelers

    Mike Webster talks to Don Shula before his final game with Steelers. Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar, AP via Pro Football Talk.

    ally want to win this on.”

His players responded. Dwayne Woodruff, the defense’s lone Super Bowl veteran, opened the scoring with 78 yard pick six of Dan Marino. Louis Lipps rushed for a 39-yard touchdown on a reverse. Gary Anderson kicked four field goals, Rodney Carter rushed for a touchdown and Darin Jordan made another pick six as the Steelers won 40-24.

Finishing 5-11 brings no bragging rights, but it at least allowed me to do a bit of “How’d Miami do yesterday” trash talking in Driver’s Ed with avowed Miami Dolphins fan named Frank.

21 years before Mike Tomlin would utter his infamous “Raise hell in December” promise the 1988 Steelers did just that. We’ll never know how much credit Dermontti Dawson’s return deserves for that turn around, but injecting future Hall of Famers into your starting line up does tend to improve things.

’88 Steelers Set the Stage to “Shock the World”

As soon as the season ended Dan Rooney made good on his midseason comments to Ed Bouchette. Things got tense. Chuck Noll almost resigned. But, with an assist from Joe Greene, Noll and Rooney continued to talk, agreed to changes, and The Emperor remained.

Rooney, who once commented that he and his wife Patricia wanted Chuck Noll to raise their kids of anything ever happened to them, clearly didn’t want to end on a bad note.

  • But Rooney wasn’t simply making an emotional decision.

In his autobiography Rooney remarked that 1988 was the year “Chuck really showed his greatness” with his post-Thanksgiving rally following a 2-10 start. As Rooney remarked, “I thought – our whole organization thought – better days lay ahead.”

The 16 year old fan rooting for the team from in suburban Maryland agreed. A year later, the 1989 Steelers vindicated us both. No, they didn’t win the Super Bowl, but they fulfill Bubby Brister’s promise to “Shock the world.”

But that is another story….

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Agree or Disagree, the Steelers Resigning Cam Sutton is No Surprise

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After a one season hiatus, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense will again feature two Cams, as the team came to terms with cornerback Cam Sutton on a one year deal. The Steelers of course drafted Cam Sutton in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

He missed the first 12 games of his rookie year with a hamstring injury, but saw his first action on the road against Cincinnati on the same night of Ryan Shazier’s injury. Over the next six years Sutton would appear in 84 games and make 39 starts.

Sutton’s career arch serves as a caution against giving in to knee-jerk reactions to label a player “a bust” if he doesn’t produce immediately.

Cam Sutton, Cameron Sutton, Steelers vs Falcons

Cam Sutton keeps the Falcons from landing in the end zone. Photo Credit: AP, via Tribune Review.

Sutton largely flew under the radar in 2018 and 2019 working in mostly in the slot and on special teams while the Steelers experienced difficulty in staffing the cornerback slot opposite of Joe Haden (yes, you’d forgotten about the Coty Sensabaugh experiment, hadn’t you?)

Yet, when the Steelers were facing Salary Cap Armageddon in the spring of 2021 thanks to COVID, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin opted to cut Steven Nelson and extend Cam Sutton. Sutton started 31 games over the next 2 seasons, hauling in 5 interceptions and batting away 21 passes.

Alas, to get Sutton signed under such trying circumstances, the Steelers added a voidable year to his contract, making him a free agent in the spring of 2023. Resigning Sutton seemed like a no-brainer, for the Steelers, but Omar Kahn let him walk, and Sutton departed for Detroit.

AT the time it was thought that, while the Steelers wanted to keep him, Detroit offered beyond their number. And that is probably the case. Detroit did over pay, giving Sutton CB Number 1 money. But last October, Dejan Kovacevic added this piece of insight to the story:

I’m told that Sutton’s primary motivation was that his girlfriend had moved there, along with his two very young daughters, Luna and Eye’Lah. He’d spoken with pride in the past of being a “girl dad” of his love for those two. Family came first.

Talk about an ironic factoid.

The Steelers were able to sign Sutton because the Detroit Lions cut him after he was arrested on a warrant for domestic violence. The fact that he’s been welcomed back to Pittsburgh has ignited a furious debate among the faithful in Steelers Nation.

“…But that’s NOT the Steelers Way.” Or Is It?

For many, the Steelers decision to resign a player who has just been arrested for domestic violence offers yet more evidence that “The Steelers Way” as we know it is no more.

That sentiment is understandable. To a point. the Steelers have shown less tolerance than some other teams for players with off the field issues.

  • But like it or not, the reality is that welcoming back Cam Sutton into the fold isn’t that much out of character.

As this site pointed out when Michael Vick arrived in 2015, the Steelers not only kept James Harrison despite his own domestic violence incident, they offered him one of the largest contracts in team history a little over a year afterwards.

Steelers vs Ravens, Cam Heyward, Cameron Heyward, James Harrison, #Shalieve50

Cam Heyward and James Harrison enter Heinz Field carrying Ryan Shazier’s Jersey. Photo Credit: Barry Reeger, PennLive.com

While Ben Roethlisberger was never arrested or criminally charged, the Steelers also gave him a second chance despite the allegations against him from his conduct in Midgeville.

And look further back to the 1970’s and you’ll find the story of Ernie Holmes going on a rampage on the Ohio Turnpike that include him shooting out of a car and aiming a gun and pulling the trigger at a police officer only to have it mercifully misfire. Holmes went on to win two Super Bowls playing next to Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood and Dwight White.

One can agree or disagree with Art Rooney II’s decision here, but both his father Dan Rooney and his grandfather Art Rooney Sr. made similar choices to give second chances to players who’d broken the law.

Football Impact of Sutton’s Return

The Steelers have been aggressive this off season in remaking their team. But Jim Wexell’s count they’ve turned over 15 of the top 30 slots on a roster that made the playoffs but wasn’t good enough to win.

  • Yet the third or slot cornerback along with wide receiver has been a glaring need.

Before making this move the Steelers had Joey Porter Jr., Donte Jackson, several question marks and Patrick Peterson’s number on speed dial at cornerback. With Cam Sutton signed, the Steelers now have three legit cornerbacks and can develop depth behind them without needing to force someone into the line up.

Final Analysis

Let’s repeat something stated here when the Steelers opted to keep James Harrison after cutting Cedrick Wilson back in 2008:

  • There is no excuse for domestic violence.
  • Domestic violence is wrong. Period.
  • Those who are convicted of domestic violence must be punished.

Cam Sutton was initially charged with an ugly felony and evaded the law for several days. Since then he has turned himself in, entered a pre-trial derivation program and, after reviewing the evidence, prosecutors have reduced the charges against him. That neither absolves nor excuses Sutton, but suggests whatever transpired may not have been as severe as first suggested.

In addition to working through his current legal situation, Sutton will likely face a suspension from the league. This isn’t the first time the Steelers have had to make a difficult decision in a case like this. In the Tomlin era alone the Steelers opted to give James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger second chances, while opting to part ways with Wilson and Chris Rainey almost immediately.

The record, both on and off the field, shows that the Steelers made the right decision in all four cases. Let’s hope their choice on Sutton proves to be a fifth.

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Pat Rooney, Former Steelers Minority Owner, Passes Away at Age 84

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Pat Rooney stands in front of a portrait of his father Art Rooney, Sr. Photo Credit: Richard Garulich, The Palm Beach Post

Patrick J. Rooney, former minority owner and son of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. has passed away at the age of 84. Of all of the Rooney brothers, Pat Rooney kept the lowest profile when it came to his association with the Steelers.

Dan Rooney of course ran the team for over 50 years, guiding it from NFL laughing stock to one of the most successful pro sports franchises in history. Dan’s decisions continue to shape the Steelers today. Art Rooney, Jr. ran the scouting department and, along with Bill Nunn and Dick Haley, oversaw some of the greatest drafts in league history.

Tim Rooney never held a formal role with the franchise, yet he was the one who penned the letter to “The Chief” imploring him to force head coach Walt Kiesling to keep Johnny Unitas. (The Chief balled the letter up and threw it in the trash, explaining to his sons, “There can only be one boss.”) John Rooney, Pat’s twin, never held a role with the team either, but he helped keep the Steelers in Rooney hands when Stanley Druckenmiller tried to buy the team in 2008.

But, as Pat Rooney explained to Jim O’Brien in his 2002 book The Chief, maintained few ties to the Steelers:

The last connection I had with the Steelers’ front office, aside from my brother Dan, was Mary Regan, who had been my dad’s secretary all those years. When they left Three Rivers Stadium for the new set-up on the South Side, Mary Regan retired. When I went in there before Mary Regan was the only one who knew me. I don’t know who to see now. That’s the way it is.

That may have been the way it was, but that was a pretty remarkable comment from a man who owned a 16% stake in the team and sat on its Board of Directors.

Pat Rooney ran the Palm Beach Kennel Club when the family bought it in 1970 and he moved to Florida to run it full time in 1984.

Although he was the first brother move as far away as Florida, Pat Rooney always remained true to his roots, recounting to O’Brien how he and his brothers would give out season ticket flyers outside the steel mills during shift changes, back when season tickets cost $25 or $30 dollars.

And Rooney remained close to his brothers, as he explained to O’Brien, “I talk to John every day. I talk to Tim about three or four times a week. I talk to Art several times a week. I talk to Dan now and then. John talks to Dan almost every day, and he tells me what Dan said. I talk to Art II.”

Like Dan Rooney, Pat was involved in the America Ireland Fund and even maintained a home in County Clare for a decade, where he’d spend approximately 2 months a year.

One of Pat Rooney’s chief initiatives was to bring slot machines to the family’s race tracks. That brought the family into conflict with the NFL’s gambling regulations (oh, how times have changed), which forced the Rooney brothers to divest their interests in the race tracks.

Pat Rooney along with his brother Tim wanted to accept Stanley Druckenmiller’s offer, however his other brother’s wishes prevailed. Although Pat didn’t quite get his way, events ultimately validated his wisdom.

In Ed Bouchette’s iconic 1992 volume Dawn of a New Steel Age, when talking about the possibility of keeping the Steelers within the family, Pat Rooney predicted, “Realistically Art’s going to have to buy out the partners.”

Dan and Art Rooney II kept control of the team, with Tim and Pat completely divesting their shares as part of their estate planning, while Art Jr. and John maintained small stakes.

Patrick was predeceased by his brothers Dan and John and is survived by wife Sandra Sully Rooney and their seven children, several grandchildren and one great grandchild. Steel Curtain Rising offers them our thoughts and our prayers.

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