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Mike Tomlin Steelers Legacy: 19 Years of Winning in Pittsburgh

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Mike Tomlin left the Pittsburgh Steelers the same way he arrived – unheralded and unanticipated.

When Bill Cowher called it a day after the Steelers 2006 season, everyone knew either Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt would get the job. Art Rooney II admitted that he didn’t expect to hire yet Mike Tomlin when he walked in the door, but Tomlin knocked his and Dan Rooney’s socks off.

By the same token, Art Rooney wasn’t expecting Mike Tomlin to step away following the loss to the Texans. But step away he has. Here we review Mike Tomlin’s full legacy as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, balancing his accomplishments and shortcomings, all framed within their historical context.

Mike Tomlin, Mike Tomlin Franco Harris Jersey, Steelers vs Raiders

Mike Tomlin wearing a Franco Harris jersey. Photo Credit: Fred Vuich, AP via St. Albert Gazette

2007 – 2010: Cementing the Franchise Legacy

Few NFL coaches get handed the keys to a Super Bowl team.

If you think that winning is “simple” for them then please Google Phil Bengtson, Ray Handley and Richie Petitbon. A coach who takes the reins of a Super Bowl-caliber team must do much more than “not mess up.”

As Willie Colon explains, “It’s hard to grab the keys to the Porsche and not crash it.”

In his first season, Mike Tomlin took an underperforming team that had gone 8-8 in 2006 and led them to a 10-6 record and an AFC North Championship.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Ben Roethlisberger connected with Heath Miller to bring the Steelers within 5 points. Mike Tomlin went for two. Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward bringing narrowing the difference to three.

Except Sean Mahan got flagged for holding. Tomlin didn’t bat an eye and went for two again. But this time, Roethlisberger couldn’t connect.

  • The Steelers did score again. But so did the Jaguars who won the game 31 to 29.

The move was controversial at the time, but with social media in its infancy the fan rage muted by 2026 standards.

But by doubling down in going for 2, Mike Tomlin established his legacy as a head coach who would put games in the hands of his players and trust them to deliver with the game on the line.

With the Arizona Cardinals threatening to take the lead as the first half closed, James Harrison, granted the freedom to freelance by Tomlin and Dick LeBeau, audibled out of his pass rush assignment and dropped into coverage. 100 yards later Harrison authored the longest run in Super Bowl history, putting the Steelers up 17 to 7.

james harrison, super bowl xliii, interception, record, pick six

James Harrison’s dramatic interception in Super Bowl XLIII

By the time more points were needed to put Pittsburgh back in the lead, the culture of trust and confidence in one another Tomlin had built proved to be the difference maker, as observed at the time:

the Steelers poise and camaraderie were consistent for four quarters. The men in Black and Gold never lost their belief in themselves nor their faith in one another. When faced with adversity, they persevered, they remained determined. And they did it together. That’s been the case all season.

And that’s what made them Super Bowl champions.

The Steelers 2009 season will and should be remembered for the Super Bowl hangover Tomlin tried and failed to avoid.

  • But 2009 revealed something important about Tomlin: His ability to rally a down team.

Memories have faded, but Tomlin’s Steelers never looked worse than they did during 2009’s 5-game losing streak. Yet, Tomlin rallied them for 3 straight wins.

In 2010, the Steelers suffered one of their worst off seasons ever as the word “Midgeville” entered the vernacular. Willie Colon was lost for the season in June. With Ben Roethlisberger suspended for 4 games, Tomlin brought Byron Leftwich back to Pittsburgh. Leftwich broke his leg in preseason.

By week, 2 Mike Tomlin was playing Charlie Batch, effectively his 4th string quarterback, and traveling to Tennessee, starting UDFA Steve McLeodon over Casey Hampton and authoring arguably the greatest defensive performance in franchise history.

  • By the time 2010 ended, the Steelers were in their 3 Super Bowl in 6 years.

Super Bowl XLV ended with a loss , but that didn’t change the fact that as new decade began, it was no longer a question of 4 Super Bowls for Chuck Noll and 1 for Bill Cowher, it was 6 Super Bowls for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as Kevin Colbert observed.

2011 – 2017: The Under Appreciated Rebuild

Mike Tomlin isn’t the only coach to take over a Super Bowl team and win another Lombardi. But continuing to win for more a couple-of-three seasons is much more challenging.

  • Just ask Barry Switzer or Mike Martz.

Yet, despite the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement leaving the Steelers in Salary Cap purgatory, Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert managed .500 seasons in 2012 and again in 2013 – after a 2-4 start no less. The 2012 season stands out for one simple reason – it contains the only Mike Tomlin-coached game where the Steelers were eliminated from playoff contention.

  • By 2014 the Steelers returned to the playoffs, as they did in 2015 and 2016.

As observed elsewhere on this site, the Steelers Killer Bees were too true to their name. Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown only played 3 of a possible 7 playoff games together.

Steelers Killer Bees, Steelers Killer Bs, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell

The Steelers Killer Bees were too true to their name. Photo Credit: pegitboard.com

(Rhetorical question “How might Chuck Noll have fared had Bradshaw, Franco, Swann and Stallworth been similarly unavailable for his playoff runs?”)

Injuries aside, by the time the Steelers reached the 2016 AFC Championship game, the only three players who remained from the 2008 Super Bowl squad were James Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger and long snapper Greg Warren.

Yes, Tom Brady seared the Steelers that night in New England, but the fact that Mike Tomlin got his team there with three rookies defensive starters, without Cam Heyward in the lineup and with Robert Golden logging 36% of the defensive snaps speaks volumes about his coaching acumen.

Steelers vs Patriots, Steelers vs Patriots 2016 AFC Championship, Javon Hargrave, Tom Brady

Javon Hargrave sacks Tom Brady early in the ’16 AFC Championship. Photo Credit: Charles Krupa, AP via Mercury News.

As badly as another AFC Championship loss to the Patriots stung, the Steelers seemed to be back.

Alas, tragedy would close the Super Bowl window that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert had re-opened 12 games later, when Ryan Shazier fell to the turf paralyzed from the waist down at Paul Brown Stadium.

From there on out, Mike Tomlin would be forced to do more with less.

Interlude: Tomlin’s Warts — Assistant Coaches and Talent Evaluation

And there’s a reason why Tomlin had to do more with less. As Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher did before him, Mike Tomlin had his flaws.

The infamous post-penalty 2-point conversion foreshadowed one of them. Sean Mahan was called for holding, and he’d been hand-picked by Mike Tomlin from Tampa Bay. Mahan traded away at a fire-sale price next September.

  • That raised the question on why Tomlin chose to bring Mahan to Pittsburgh in the first place.

Yes, Mike Tomlin managed to pluck Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt at the bottom of the first round. He and his scouts found gems like Antonio Brown and Kelvin Beachum in the 6th and 7th rounds.

But as the Steelers struggled to Re-Load for Ben Roethlisberger, they swung and missed badly as any sober evaluation of their 2018, 2019, and 2020 draft classes reveals. 2021 wasn’t much better, but Salary Cap Armageddon, combined with injuries and surprise retirements, forced them  to reach to fill needs.

D.K. Metcalf, Terrell Edmunds, Steelers vs Seahawks

D.K. Metcalf burns Terrell Edmunds for a touchdown. Photo Credit: Yahoo.com

This isn’t the sole responsibility of Mike Tomlin, but his voice was at the ver least, the first among equals in the draft war room.

  • In contrast, Mike Tomlin did have a free hand in picking assistant coaches.

Let’s be objective and acknowledge Mike Munchak, Danny Smith, Karl Dunbar, Richard Mann, Al Everest and, arguably, Todd Haley as good hires.

But those were balanced out by the Bob Ligasheskys, Amos Joness, Carnell Lakes and Joey Porter Sr’s (anyone notice how Bud Dupree blossomed when Keith Butler returned to the linebackers room?) Tomlin changed offensive line coaches not named Munchak the way everyone else changes underwear.

His signature attempt to cultivate an innovative coaching talent was Matt Canada. Canada holds the infamous distinction of being the only Steelers coordinator to be fired mid-season in the modern era.

Selecting assistant coaches wasn’t Tomin’s strength, and this weakness weighed him down.

2018 – 2025 – Doing More with Less

The post-Shazier/playoff drought phase of Tomlin tenure will remain a lightning rod for generations. So be it.

  • Here the focus is on what Mike Tomlin achieved as instead of what he failed to achieve.

Three examples highlight Tomlin’s skill as both a leader and as a football tactician: Quarterbacks, the 2021 season and the 2025 season.

Quarterbacks

The Steelers franchise deserves all the criticism it gets for bungling the post-Roethlisberger transition. I can’t prove it, but I suspect Mike Tomlin wanted to draft Lamar Jackson but got beaten to the punch.

Be that as it may, following Roethlisberger’s injury in 2019, Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges, Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers all started for the Steelers.

Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Steelers 2022 quarterback competition

Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. Photo Credit: Brandon Sloter / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images and The Athletic.)

Do Coach-quarterback records say more about the coach or the QB? Who knows? Either way they yield valuable insights such as:

  • Don Shula reached a Super Bowl with David Woodley – Score one for Shula.
  • Bill Belichick’s record without Tom Brady is piss poor – draw your own conclusions.
  • Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different QBs – Yeah Joe is underrated.
  • Noll & Malone beat Walsh & Montana. Twice – Score one for The Emperor.

Rudolph, Hodges, Tribusiky, Pickett, Fields along with an aging Wilson and an even older Rodgers offer a wide spectrum in terms of talent and pedigree.

  • The only one with a losing record in Pittsburgh was Trubisky.

The rest have losing records in their post-Steelers lives, and Hodges, who was .500 as a Steelers starter, couldn’t even secure a spot on another team’s practice squad.

Enough said.

The 2021 Season

We remember Ben Roethlisberger going out with a bang in 2021 after seven 4th quarter comebacks. He gets  he lion’s share of the credit for the 9-7-1 finish.

But what we forget ’21 Steelers had an offensive line held together with spit, duct tape and bubble gum and a defensive line that had Cameron Heyward playing alongside career backups and practice squanders.

Few credit Mike Tomlin for keeping that team together. But they should.

The 2025 Season

Mike Tomlin’s Yin and Yang was on full display 2025.

During the off season, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan took several calculated personnel risks.

One was that the trio of Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. backed by safety Juan Tornhill could deliver the shutdown secondary necessary to combat Joe Burrow’s video game-like passing attack. On offense, they gambled that Roman Wilson would grow into a legit WR No 2.

  • Burrow didn’t get a chance to test them, but Joe Flacco did and exposed them.
  • Roman Wilson flashed (well, flickered) early on but finished the year inactive.

By season’s end, Mike Tomlin had brought in 3 new defensive backs and moved the pieces around so that only secondary starter was playing in his opening day position. He did something similar at wide receiver adding not one but two cast offs.

Jalen Ramsey, Tua Tagovailoa, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolphins MNF

Jalen Ramsey sacks Tua Tagovailoa. Photo Credit: Alysia Rubin, Steelers.com

The changes resulted in a team that lost 5 of 7 games to close November at 6-6, to one went 4-1 down the stretch and won the AFC Championship.

Sweet Steelers Symmetry

Early in his tenure, a reader asked Ed Bouchette in a Post-Gazette chat to compare Tomlin to his predecessors. Bouchette opined that Tomlin struck him as a cross between Noll and Cowher.

So there’s something poetic about Mike Tomlin finishing with 193 regular season wins, just as Chuck Noll did. And its fitting that Tomin’s Super Bowl record of 1-1 match’s Bill Cowher’s.

Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, Chuck Noll, Steelers Six Lombardi Trophies, Mike Tomlin Bill Cowher photo

Bill Cowher interviews Mike Tomlin. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Noll and Cowher boast better post-season percentages, yet Tomlin’s regular season squads never swooned to the depths his predecessors touched.

Thank you Mike Tomlin for 1 Super Bowl, 2 AFC Championships, 8 AFC North Titles, 14 playoff experiences and 193 wins.

Thank you for giving us 19 years of a “winning era.”

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Keeping the Family Together! Steelers Resign Cam Heyward for 3 Years

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In the end, Art Rooney II has decided to keep the family together as the Steelers announced that they have signed Cam Heyward to a three-year $45 million contract, with 16 million in guarantees, a 15 million dollar signing bonus and $29 million in new money.

The Steelers drafted Cam Heyward in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft and since then he has grown into the face of the franchise.

Cam Heyward, Cam Heyward Franco Harris Number 32, Steelers vs Raiders

Paying homage to Franco, Cam Heyward leads Steelers out of tunnel. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Heyward was entering the final year of his contract leading to speculation that this could be his last year in Pittsburgh. Heyward made it clear he had no intention of retiring and that he preferred to spend his entire career in Pittsburgh.

  • The only question was whether the Steelers would comply.

They answered that definitively with this contract extension.

Rooney, Khan and Tomlin Make the Right Move – On and Off the Field

Cam Heyward is already 35. There are not a lot of football players let alone defensive lineman playing at that age. Furthermore, he was injured last season and his performance dipped.

The football realpolitik would have been to let him play out his contract and then see what the off season would bring. But the Steelers brain trust did the right thing by extending Heyward now.

While Cam Heyward didn’t make the same impact last season has he has before, the Steelers defense was noticeably better with him in the line up. How else do you think the franchise could lose an inside linebacker and/or a safety a week, every week starting at about Halloween?

Moreover, the Steelers enter the 2024 season with one of the deepest defensive lines they have fielded since the days when Heyward was buried on the depth chart behind Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood and Steve McLendon.

Larry Ogunjobi is a solid starter, and Keeanu Benton looks poised to make the proverbial “second year leap.” DeMarvin Leal is also looking strong as is Isaiahh Loudermilk, while Montravius Adams brings valuable depth with rookie Logan Lee waiting in the bull pen.

  • Karl Dunbar now has the personnel to do a robust defensive line rotation.

This should lower Heyward’s snap count while improving his effectiveness. Committing not only to keeping Heyward around will reinforce his role as a mentor to the younger lineman, and cement his status as one of the locker room’s undisputed leaders.

Anytime you extend a veteran at this age does carry risk, but the public parameters suggest this is a team-friendly deal.

  • But that misses the point.

This deal all but ensures that Cam Heyward will spend his entire career wearing Black and Gold and retire as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That alone is worth the risk.

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Finishing Touches: Steelers Announce 2022 Undrafted Rookie Free Agent Class

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Mere minutes after announcing Chris Oladokun as their 2nd 7th round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers came to terms with their 2022 Undrafted Rookie Free Agent class. This will be Kevin Colbert’s final undrafted rookie free agent class, and as noted here before, he’s had an uncanny ability to pluck gems from players whose phones remained quite on draft day.

The Steelers 2022 undrafted rookie free agent class includes:

Jake Dixon, Offensive Tackle, Duquesne
Jordan Tucker, Offensive Tackle, North Carolina
Mataeo Durant, Running Back, Duke
Jaylen Warren, Running Back, Oklahoma State
Donovan Jeter, Defensive Lineman, Michigan
Tyree Johnson, Outside Linebacker, Texas A&M
T.D. Moultry, Outside Linebacker, Auburn
Chris Owens, Guard, Alabama
Chris Steele, Cornerback, Southern California
Bryce Watts, Cornerback, UMass

As expected, the group targets positions which the Steelers did not address in the draft, namely running back, offensive tackle and cornerback, although the inclusion of 2 outside linebackers is interesting.

  • Undrafted rookie free agents are kind of like the Rudy’s of the NFL.

They are mainly there to fill out training camp rosters, saving the wear and tear on the starters. That’s true around the NFL, but these young gentlemen are luck to have landed in Pittsburgh.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers training camp, St. Vincents

Mike Tomlin addresses the men at Steelers training camp. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

As Mike Tomlin explained when asked about the pedigrees of several his draftees, “Arthur Maulet used to always make a joke last year during the season that he was a zero-star guy, and boy, you got respect for that, as well. I embraced the football justice component of it. It does not matter by what means you get here.”

The Steelers ended Chuck Noll’s policy of practicing without numbers so that coaches would evaluate all players objectively ended a long time ago. But the fundamental principle doesn’t change:

  • Once you make it to St. Vincents its not about where you came from, but what you can prove on the field.

Fans reared during the Ben Roethlisberger era will remember the Ramon Foster, Steve McLendon, Isaac Redman, Willie Parker and James Harrison all arrived at St. Vincents as undrafted rookie free agents and used that as a launching pad to transform themselves into regular starters, cult heroes or Super Bowl record holders.

Dwight Stone arrived in Latrobe as an nobody from Middle Tenn. St. in the summer of 1987 and finished in the year 2000 after played 216 games over 14 years in the NFL. And of course Donnie Shell was just a nameless undrafted rookie free agent defensive back running drills with the likes of Mike Wagner, Glen Edwards and Mel Blount and now he’s in the Hall of Fame.

Gentleman, rest assured, you face long odds, but if you deliver while at St. Vincents, the Steelers will give you a fair shake.

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Javon Hargrave Steelers Free Agent Profile: “Grave Digger” to Find Fortune Outside of Pittsburgh

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The rookie wage scale implemented by 2011 NFL Collective bargaining agreement was a game changer of epic proportions for the NFL. By locking in rookies to a set wage scale, it gave teams the chance to fix a large portion of their roster and salary cap costs.

  • It also delivered a benefit to general managers who could draft players that could contribute immediately.

An impact player playing on his rookie contract is worth his weight in gold to an NFL team. The Steelers have perhaps had no better example of that than the experience of Javon Hargrave. A quick look at his career reveals why, as well as why such situations create bittersweet moments for teams and fans.

Javon Hargrave, Blake Bortles, Cam Heyward, Steelers vs Jaguars

Javon Hargrave deflects a Blake Bortles pass while Cam Heyward is blatantly held. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

A Capsule Profile of Javon Hargrave’s Steelers Career

The Steelers drafted Javon Hargrave in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft, drawing uncharacteristic praise from John Mitchell, the Steelers legendary, but cantankerous, defensive line coach.

  • Rookies (not named Casey Hampton) not only failed to start for coach Mitchell, they seldom played.

So Mitchell’s comments were a true eyebrow raiser. And true to form, Javon Hargrave started as a rookie and made an instant impact, making 2 sacks and 5 tackles from behind the line of scrimmage. He started strong, with the rest of the defense in the 2017, contributing to series of epic Red Zone stands against the Lions that yielded no points. Injuries limited Hargrave in late 2017, keeping him off the field at several critical junctures in the 2017 playoff debacle against the Jaguars.

They did, and Hargrave delivered both in 2018 and in 2019, where Hargrave stepped it up following Stephon Tuitt’s injury, where Hargrave made 60 tackles, 4 sacks and dropped 7 players behind the line of scrimmage.

The Case for the Steelers Resigning Javon Hargrave

Former Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis once told Jim Wexell that the health of the Steelers defense can be traced to the quality of play in its center, from nose tackle to safety.

Javon Hargrave has shown he is more than up to the task. Moreover, he is versatile. Equally important, the Steelers don’t have an heir apparent but do have offensive needs galore in the draft.

Really, the Steelers have no choice but to keep Javon Hargrave in Pittsburgh.

The Case Against the Steelers Resigning Javon Hargrave

Sixty three percent. That is Javon Hargrave’s snap count for 2019 which takes into account his increased time due to Stephon Tuitt being on IR. Prior to that, he averaged about 46% of the defensive snaps. Assuming both Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt return in full health in 2020, it is hard to imagine Javon Hargrave’s time going up appreciably.

  • And as a free agent, Javon Hargrave stands poised to claim the 2nd or 3rd richest free agent contract.

Javon Hagrave knows this. So does his agent. Hargave won’t accept a “home town discount.” Watching a player the Steelers drafted and developed leave is difficult, but you can’t pay everyone.

Curtain’s Call on the Steelers and Javon Hargrave

In a perfect world the Steelers would find a way to keep Javon Hargrave in Pittsburgh. But the world isn’t perfect, and the salary cap forces teams to make exactly these kinds of choices. In fact, the Steelers made one four years ago when they left Steve McLendon go.

  • Expect the Steelers to follow suit here.

The Steelers simply have to accept that Javon Hargrave delivered excellent value on his rookie contract and be glad they can get a compensatory pick.

Has Steelers free agency left you scrambling? Click here for our Steelers 2020 Free Agent tracker or click here for all Steelers 2020 free agency focus articles.

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One Lesson From Jaguars Game? Steelers Need to Play Javon Hargrave More

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“We have some lessons to learn.”
–Mike Tomlin following the Steelers come from behind win over the Jacksonville Jaguars

Mike Tomlin’s right. And here’s one lesson the Steelers should learn form the Jacksonville game: Javon Hargrave needs to play more.

To say the least, Over the last two seasons the Pittsburgh Steelers have developed a flair for the dramatic. Dramatic in the form of Ben Roethlisberger 4th quarter, or perhaps more accurately, two minute warning comebacks.

It took the Steelers 4 attempts from the two yard line to score the go ahead touchdown in a game that Pittsburgh never led until the final five seconds of the game arrived.

Javon Hargrave, Blake Bortles, Cam Heyward, Steelers vs Jaguars

Javon Hargrave deflects a Blake Bortles pass while Cam Heyward is blatantly held. Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

The truth is that the inability of Ben Roethlisberger to get in sync with Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Vance McDonald and the inability of the offensive line to get rushing lanes open for James Conner is the biggest reason why such late heroics were again needed.

  • It happens. The Jaguars have a good defense.

But, and few could have imagined saying this in September, the Steelers have a good defense too, and one that could be better by finding a way to give more playing time to Javon Hargrave.

The Steelers of course drafted Javon Hargrave in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the third defensive pick after taking Artie Burns and Sean Davis. Hargrave quickly assumed Steve McLendon’s starting role and his play in the 2nd half of 2016 was a big reason for the team’s turn around.

  • But Javon Hargrave plays nose tackle, and the Steelers play their base 3-4 defense less and less frequently.

So be it. In many ways sub packages define Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler’s defense and far be it for me to criticize them.

But regardless of which subpackage they deploy, the Steelers coaches need to find a way to get Javon Hargrave on the field more. During the first half it looked like Leonard Fournette was going to lead the Jaguars on steamroll the Steelers defense similar to what they had done in the playoffs.

But Javon Hargrave arguably began the defensive rally by sacking Blake Bortles on third down to force a field goal when the Jaguars were in the Red Zone. He followed it up with another sack on the next series helped get the ball back (although the Steelers would turn it over quickly.)

While snap counts by quarter are not available, it seemed like early in the game there was a lot of Daniel McCullers Number 93 on the field and a lot less of Javon Hargrave. However, in the second half Hargrave 79 was on the field a plenty, which is when the Steelers defense went into shut down mode.

  • On the day, Hargrave tackled two Jaguar ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage, got two more licks in on Blake Bortles and helped force a 3 and out by deflecting a Bortles pass on third down.

Cam Heyward leads all Steelers defensive lineman having been on the field for 78% of the Steelers defensive snaps. He’s followed by Stephon Tuitt who clocks in at 68%. Javon Hargrave is next, at 38%, meaning his snap count is only 7% higher than Tyson Alualu.

When he first arrived in Pittsburgh and speculation still abounded that he might shift the Steelers to a 3-4 defense, Mike Tomlin explained that a players like Aaron Smith or Casey Hampton were going to be good whether they played in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme.

Tomlin’s logic was sound, even if it trying to apply to every good player would be an oversimplification (see the Steelers moving “bust” 1st rounder James Farrior from the outside to inside linebacker.)

Well, Javon Hargrave might officially carry the title of nose tackle, but he’s shown he can be an impact player, and it would wise for Karl Dunbar, Keith Butler and Mike Tomlin to figure out how to get him on the field more frequently.

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Success of John Mitchell’s Steelers Coaching Career Defined by Names Like Tuitt, Keisel & Smith

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You have to feel for Karl Dunbar, the new Steelers defensive line coach who returns to Pittsburgh finding very shoes to fill. So just how big are John Mitchell’s shoes? How long of a shadow does John Mitchell’s Steelers coaching career cast? Well consider this:

  • The Steelers drafted Karl Dunbar in the 8th round of the 1990 NFL Draft, and the position coach he failed to impress that summer at St. Vincents was none other than Mean Joe Greene.

And in the 28 years since, Steve Furness is the only other man besides John Mitchell to hold the title “Steelers defensive line coach.” To put that in perspective, Mike Tomlin has employed four different offensive line coaches since 2007.

But longevity doesn’t define John Mitchell’s Steelers coaching career. John Mitchell defined his coaching career with the men he mentored and molded as defensive line coach.

John Mitchell, Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell, John Mitchell's Steelers coaching career

Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell at his best – teaching in the trenches. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Steelers Defensive Line Goes from “Boom” to “Bust” as 70’s Become 80’s

In the ‘70’s, Pittsburgh’s famed Steel Curtain, Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes set the NFL diamond standard for defensive line excellence.

In the ‘80’s changed things fast. The Steelers drafted Keith Gary, Gabe Rivera, Darryl Sims and Aaron Jones all first round picks, yet undrafted rookie free agent Keith Willis and 1986 2nd round pick Gerald Williams were Pittsburgh’s best two defensive lineman during the decade.

The 90’s failed to bring better times. In the 1990 NFL Draft, in addition to drafting Dunbar, the Steelers took defensive lineman Kenny Davidson and Craig Veasey in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. When neither man was delivering during the 1991 season, a reader asked Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola what the problem was.

  • A resigned Labriola responded that success in the draft involved a certain amount of luck, and suggest that perhaps the Steelers luck with drafting defensive lineman had run dry.

Sometimes, when luck runs out, its best to blow everything up and start from zero.

The 90’s — John Mitchell’s First Act with the Steelers

NFL position coaches don different hats. Sometimes they strategize. Other times they motivate and manage egos. They scout and evaluate talent. And they teach. John Mitchell excelled at teaching and you can see it in the methodical way Mitchell revived the Steelers defensive line.

As a defensive line coach, John Mitchell was known for taking you defensive lineman, stripping away everything they’d been taught in college, and building their skill sets up from zero. It would make a nice story to say that is what he did when he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1994, but that’s not quite accurate.

Its true that Bill Cowher had fired Steve Furness, a firing which Furness never understood or got over, after a 1993 campaign with a defensive line that featured Kenny Davidson and Donald Evans at defensive end (recognize those names? No, well there’s no reason to.)

  • But the Steelers had picked Joel Steed in the 3rd round of the 1992 NFL Draft, and Steed was already a starter.

The Steelers had already drafted Kevin Henry in the 1993 NFL Draft, and Henry had already worked his way into the lineup. Steed’s emergence allowed the Steelers to move Gerald Williams to defensive end, and the Steelers signed Ray Seals in free agency. So Mitchell didn’t have to start from zero with the group of players he inherited.

  • But one fact stands out from that period of Mitchell’s early tenure.

Brentson Buckner made it into the starting lineup as a rookie, thanks to injuries suffered by Williams, and other than Buckner in 1994 and Casey Hampton in 2001, no rookie became a regular starter on Johnny Mitchell’s defensive line until Stephon Tuitt in late 2014.

Still, the Steelers defensive line was an undisputed position of strength of the 1994 Blitzburgh defense and remained that way for the 1995 squad that went to Super Bowl XXX.

  • The truth is that the, while never a weakness, the Steelers defensive line wasn’t as strong during the rest of the 1990’s.

To be sure, Joel Steed emerged as a Pro Bowler by 1997, but his knees started giving out on him, and those injuries certainly played a part in the late season collapses of the 1998 and 1999 Steelers. And while Orpheus Roye’s emergence in the late 1990’s was a bright spot for the Steelers and Mitchell, the end of the decade didn’t leave a lot to smile about.

But those dark days did set the stage for John Mitchell’s best work.

The Year 2000 – Kevin Colbert Arrives and John Mitchell Excels

Dan Rooney made changes after the Steelers 7-9 and 6-10 1998 and 1999 campaigns, both of which featured late season melt downs. Rooney fired Tom Donahoe and hired Kevin Colbert.

  • Its hard to know whether Kevin Colbert’s arrival directly or indirectly impacted him, but John Mitchell’s coaching brilliance quickly became evident in the 21st century.

One of Kevin Colbert’s first moves as Director of Football Operations was to sign Kimo von Oelhoffen to replace Joel Steed. After six years in Cincinnati, von Oelhoffen could charitably be described as a journeyman. Under Mitchell’s tutelage, Kimo von Oelhoffen became a fixture on the Steelers defensive line, starting 94 games and ending his tenure in Super Bowl XL.

The summer of 2000 at St. Vincents yielded another surprise for the Steelers defensive line. A young, 6th round pick from the 1999 NFL Draft came out of nowhere to win the Steelers starting job at defensive end.

The 2001 NFL Draft brought Casey Hampton to the Steelers, giving John Mitchell a nose tackle that could effectively eliminate the middle of the field from the opposing team’s running game. Casey Hampton was of course a first round pick, and its easy to credit Hampton’s talent over Mitchell’s coaching, but Hampton succeeded where so many Steelers 1st round defensive lineman had failed.

  • But if Casey Hampton was “supposed” to succeed, the same cannot be said of the Steelers next two defensive line acquisitions.

After drafting Hampton in 2001, the Steelers brought in an undrafted rookie free agent name Chris Hoke and a year later they took Brett Keisel with their 7th round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.

Chris Hoke didn’t develop into a superstar under John Mitchell and didn’t even appear in a game until 20014. But over the next 8 seasons Hoke appeared in 114 games and started 18 of them and never let the Steelers defensive line down.

Brett Keisel’s story is well known. He quietly worked his way into the line up during 2002 and 2003, because a regular part of the rotation in 2004 and essentailly pushed out von Oelhoffen to become the starter in 2006.

  • Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel gave the Steelers their defensive line trio of the 3-4 era.

When reporters asked John Mitchell what he would do when Smith, Hampton and Keisel retired Mitchell said he’d join them. He wasn’t entirely joking. But fortunately he didn’t have to.

John Mitchell Supervises Defensive Line Rebuild

Fortunately, for the Steelers, Mitchell stuck around for the rebuild of the defensive line. Although far from a “bust,” Ziggy Hood didn’t work out as planned. But the Steelers hit a grand-slam home run in the 2011 NFL Draft when they picked Cam Heyward.

  • Three years later they did it again by taking Stephon Tuitt in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

For a while they were joined by another young man who’d come to Pittsburgh as part of the 2009 undrafted free agent class. He saw his first action in the 2010 Steelers win over the Titans, and while Steve McLendon wasn’t a superstar, he did turn into a pretty solid nose tackle.

McLendon’s departure paved the way for the Steelers to draft Javon Hargrave, who like Casey Hampton before him won the starting job out of the gate. Hargrave had a spectacular rookie year, and if he suffered some growing pains in his second year, the arrow is still pointed up on the nose tackle from South Carolina.

In a word, John Mitchell has left Karl Dunbar with the tools he needs to do his job. And then some.

John Mitchell Transitions to True Assistant Head Coach Role

One of Mike Tomlin’s first moves after getting hired as Steelers head coach in 2007 was to add the title “Assistant Head Coach” to John Mitchell’s title. But as Bob Labriola implied, that was mainly a ceremonial title that carried few responsibilities.

  • One of the surprises of the Steelers 2018 off season was that John Mitchell would be stepping aside as defensive line coach and assuming the role as Assistant Head Coach full time.

Part of Mitchell’s role will be to take administrative tasks off Tomlin’s shoulders. He’s also going to help outreach efforts with former players from the Tomlin era. And word is part of his job is to give everyone “Tough Love” be it a player, an assistant coach or even Mike Tomlin himself when he sees something amiss.

  • That’s a new role for John Mitchell, and a new role for the Steelers.

But if Mitchell can reproduce the results he delivered as defensive line coach, then this might just be the change that pushes Pittsburgh’s quest for Lombardi Number Seven over the hump.

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Success of Johnny Mitchell’s Steelers Coaching Career Defined by Names Like Tuitt, Keisel, Smith & Steed

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You have to feel for Karl Dunbar, the new Steelers defensive line coach who returns to Pittsburgh finding very shoes to fill. So just how big are John Mitchell’s shoes? How long of a shadow does John Mitchell’s Steelers coaching career cast? Well consider this:

  • The Steelers drafted Karl Dunbar in the 8th round of the 1990 NFL Draft, and the position coach he failed to impress that summer at St. Vincents was none other than Mean Joe Greene.

And in the 28 years since, Steve Furness is the only other man besides John Mitchell to hold the title “Steelers defensive line coach.” To put that in perspective, Mike Tomlin has employed four different offensive line coaches since 2007.

But longevity doesn’t define John Mitchell’s Steelers coaching career. John Mitchell defined his coaching career with the men he mentored and molded as defensive line coach.

John Mitchell, Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell, John Mitchell's Steelers coaching career

Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell at his best – teaching in the trenches. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Steelers Defensive Line Goes from “Boom” to “Bust” as 70’s Become 80’s

In the ‘70’s, Pittsburgh’s famed Steel Curtain, Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes set the NFL diamond standard for defensive line excellence.

In the ‘80’s changed things fast. The Steelers drafted Keith Gary, Gabe Rivera, Darryl Sims and Aaron Jones all first round picks, yet undrafted rookie free agent Keith Willis and 1986 2nd round pick Gerald Williams were Pittsburgh’s best two defensive lineman during the decade.

The 90’s failed to bring better times. In the 1990 NFL Draft, in addition to drafting Dunbar, the Steelers took defensive lineman Kenny Davidson and Craig Veasey in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. When neither man was delivering during the 1991 season, a reader asked Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola what the problem was.

  • A resigned Labriola responded that success in the draft involved a certain amount of luck, and suggest that perhaps the Steelers luck with drafting defensive lineman had run dry.

Sometimes, when luck runs out, its best to blow everything up and start from zero.

The 90’s — John Mitchell’s First Act with the Steelers

NFL position coaches don different hats. Sometimes they strategize. Other times they motivate and manage egos. They scout and evaluate talent. And they teach. John Mitchell excelled at teaching and you can see it in the methodical way Mitchell revived the Steelers defensive line.

As a defensive line coach, John Mitchell was known for taking you defensive lineman, stripping away everything they’d been taught in college, and building their skill sets up from zero. It would make a nice story to say that is what he did when he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1994, but that’s not quite accurate.

Its true that Bill Cowher had fired Steve Furness, a firing which Furness never understood or got over, after a 1993 campaign with a defensive line that featured Kenny Davidson and Donald Evans at defensive end (recognize those names? No, well there’s no reason to.)

  • But the Steelers had picked Joel Steed in the 3rd round of the 1992 NFL Draft, and Steed was already a starter.

The Steelers had already drafted Kevin Henry in the 1993 NFL Draft, and Henry had already worked his way into the lineup. Steed’s emergence allowed the Steelers to move Gerald Williams to defensive end, and the Steelers signed Ray Seals in free agency. So Mitchell didn’t have to start from zero with the group of players he inherited.

  • But one fact stands out from that period of Mitchell’s early tenure.

Brentson Buckner made it into the starting lineup as a rookie, thanks to injuries suffered by Williams, and other than Buckner in 1994 and Casey Hampton in 2001, no rookie became a regular starter on Johnny Mitchell’s defensive line until Stephon Tuitt in late 2014.

Still, the Steelers defensive line was an undisputed position of strength of the 1994 Blitzburgh defense and remained that way for the 1995 squad that went to Super Bowl XXX.

  • The truth is that the, while never a weakness, the Steelers defensive line wasn’t as strong during the rest of the 1990’s.

To be sure, Joel Steed emerged as a Pro Bowler by 1997, but his knees started giving out on him, and those injuries certainly played a part in the late season collapses of the 1998 and 1999 Steelers. And while Orpheus Roye’s emergence in the late 1990’s was a bright spot for the Steelers and Mitchell, the end of the decade didn’t leave a lot to smile about.

But those dark days did set the stage for John Mitchell’s best work.

The Year 2000 – Kevin Colbert Arrives and John Mitchell Excels

Dan Rooney made changes after the Steelers 7-9 and 6-10 1998 and 1999 campaigns, both of which featured late season melt downs. Rooney fired Tom Donahoe and hired Kevin Colbert.

  • Its hard to know whether Kevin Colbert’s arrival directly or indirectly impacted him, but Johnny Mitchell’s coaching brilliance quickly became evident in the 21st century.

One of Kevin Colbert’s first moves as Director of Football Operations was to sign Kimo von Oelhoffen to replace Joel Steed. After six years in Cincinnati, von Oelhoffen could charitably be described as a journeyman. Under Mitchell’s tutelage, Kimo von Oelhoffen became a fixture on the Steelers defensive line, starting 94 games and ending his tenure in Super Bowl XL.

The summer of 2000 at St. Vincents yielded another surprise for the Steelers defensive line. A young, 6th round pick from the 1999 NFL Draft came out of nowhere to win the Steelers starting job at defensive end.

The 2001 NFL Draft brought Casey Hampton to the Steelers, giving Johnny Mitchell a nose tackle that could effectively eliminate the middle of the field from the opposing team’s running game. Casey Hampton was of course a first round pick, and its easy to credit Hampton’s talent over Mitchell’s coaching, but Hampton succeeded where so many Steelers 1st round defensive lineman had failed.

  • But if Casey Hampton was “supposed” to succeed, the same cannot be said of the Steelers next two defensive line acquisitions.

After drafting Hampton in 2001, the Steelers brought in an undrafted rookie free agent name Chris Hoke and a year later they took Brett Keisel with their 7th round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.

Chris Hoke didn’t develop into a superstar under John Mitchell and didn’t even appear in a game until 20014. But over the next 8 seasons Hoke appeared in 114 games and started 18 of them and never let the Steelers defensive line down.

Brett Keisel’s story is well known. He quietly worked his way into the line up during 2002 and 2003, because a regular part of the rotation in 2004 and essentailly pushed out von Oelhoffen to become the starter in 2006.

  • Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel gave the Steelers their defensive line trio of the 3-4 era.

When reporters asked Johnny Mitchell what he would do when Smith, Hampton and Keisel retired Mitchell said he’d join them. He wasn’t entirely joking. But fortunately he didn’t have to.

Johnny Mitchell Supervises Defensive Line Rebuild

Fortunately, for the Steelers, Mitchell stuck around for the rebuild of the defensive line. Although far from a “bust,” Ziggy Hood didn’t work out as planned. But the Steelers hit a grand-slam home run in the 2011 NFL Draft when they picked Cam Heyward.

  • Three years later they did it again by taking Stephon Tuitt in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

For a while they were joined by another young man who’d come to Pittsburgh as part of the 2009 undrafted free agent class. He saw his first action in the 2010 Steelers win over the Titans, and while Steve McLendon wasn’t a superstar, he did turn into a pretty solid nose tackle.

McLendon’s departure paved the way for the Steelers to draft Javon Hargrave, who like Casey Hampton before him won the starting job out of the gate. Hargrave had a spectacular rookie year, and if he suffered some growing pains in his second year, the arrow is still pointed up on the nose tackle from South Carolina.

In a word, Johnny Mitchell has left Karl Dunbar with the tools he needs to do his job. And then some.

John Mitchell Transitions to True Assistant Head Coach Role

One of Mike Tomlin’s first moves after getting hired as Steelers head coach in 2007 was to add the title “Assistant Head Coach” to John Mitchell’s title. But as Bob Labriola implied, that was mainly a ceremonial title that carried few responsibilities.

  • One of the surprises of the Steelers 2018 off season was that John Mitchell would be stepping aside as defensive line coach and assuming the role as Assistant Head Coach full time.

Part of Mitchell’s role will be to take administrative tasks off Tomlin’s shoulders. He’s also going to help outreach efforts with former players from the Tomlin era. And word is part of his job is to give everyone “Tough Love” be it a player, an assistant coach or even Mike Tomlin himself when he sees something amiss.

  • That’s a new role for John Mitchell, and a new role for the Steelers.

But if Mitchell can reproduce the results he delivered as defensive line coach, then this might just be the change that pushes Pittsburgh’s quest for Lombardi Number Seven over the hump.

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“D”= “Disappointment” Steelers Free Agent Daniel McCullers Shows Sometimes Measurables Don’t Mean Much

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Editors note: Steelers resigned Daniel McCullers on 3/22/18

Sometimes measurables don’t amount to much in NFL football.

Let’s pair that opening with a confession of sorts. When I started seriously following the Steelers as a teenager (as much you could follow the Steelers from suburban Maryland in those pre-internet days) I was also very much into pro wrestling. It was the heyday of the WWF, after all.

  • And my enthusiasm for the two “sports” led me to build football rosters comprised of wrestlers on the Apple IIc version of John Madden Football.

OK, enjoy a good laugh, but remember I was in Junior High then. The point to this tangent, is that this John Madden Football “project” was inspired in no small part by wondering “What would it be like if Andre the Giant had played football?”

In some ways, the 2014 NFL Draft gave the Steelers a similar opportunity, when Daniel McCullers was on the board in the 6th round. Here was a man so immense they called him “Shady Tree.” Surely, with the right tutelage  someone so thoroughly enormous couldn’t but help dominate, right? Well, as Big D Daniel McCullers is about to become a free agent, “D” doesn’t stand for domination, it stands for “Disappointment.”

Daniel McCullers, David Andrews, Steelers vs Patriots

In one of his rare action shots, Daniel McCullers goes head-to-head against David Andrews. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Capsule Profile of Daniel McCullers’ Steelers Career

Daniel McCullers sat on the bench during his rookie season only seeing his first action in the Steelers win over the Houston Texas. McCullers appeared in 8 more games as a rookie and only recorded two tackles, but looked capable of doing what nose tackles should do, clog up the middle of the field.

  • In 2015, during his second year McCullers played in 12 games and nearly doubled his snap count from his rookie season. Things seemed to be heading in the right direction.

In 2016 McCullers saw action in all 16 games, blocking a field goal against Miami and recording a sack in the season finale against Cleveland. However, despite the season-ending injury to Cam Heyward, McCuller’s snap count only increased from 9% to 17% – rookie Javon Hargrave’s played in 47% of defensive snaps by comparison.

To the surprise of many, McCullers made the Steelers final 53 man roster in 2017, but he only played in 13 snaps during the regular season, as L.T. Walton suplanted him as the team’s top backup nose tackle. That’s 13 snaps, not 13% of snaps.

The Case for the Steelers Resigning Daniel McCullers

The case for the Steelers resigning Daniel McCullers comes down to this: 6’7” 352 pounds. A guy that big has got to be able to do some damage on the football field, right? And you might as well have him during damage for you rather than against you, right?

He hasn’t done it so far, but patience is a virtue, isn’t it?

The Case Against the Steelers Resigning Daniel McCullers

The fact that McCuller’s measurable forms the strongest case you can make for resigning Daniel McCullers is in itself damming. After four years in the NFL, McCullers has a total of 16 tackles. The Steelers have given Daniel McCullers chances, and he has never delivered.

At this point it would be hard to justify even a veteran minimum contract for McCullers, given that there has to be a rookie out there who offers legitimate “upside.”

Curtain’s Call on the Steelers and Daniel McCullers

AFC Divisional playoff loss to the Jaguars should tell you all you need to know about what the Steelers think of Daniel McCullers. The Steelers knew Stephon Tuitt was ailing going into the game, and probably knew that Jarvon Hargrave was less than 100%. Yet, they chose to leave McCullers on the inactive list.

  • John Mitchell took undrafted rookie free agents like Chris Hoke and Steve McLendon, and transformed them into competent, quality nose tackles.

Mitchell had four years to work with McCullers, but even the best position coaches struggle to develop potential at times. Could Karl Dunbar be the answer? The Steelers new defensive line coach brings an impressive track record to Pittsburgh an perhaps can argue that he sees something on film that would justify bringing McCullers back to St. Vincents.

That’s theoretically possible, but not practically plausible so expect McCullers and the Steelers to move in different directions.

Has Steelers free agency left you scrambling? Click here for our Steelers 2018 Free Agent tracker or click here for all Steelers 2018 free agency focus articles.

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4 Lessons Learned & Random Thoughts on Steelers Growth Since Vikings Loss in London

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When the Pittsburgh Steelers kickoff for their 2017 home opener against the Minnesota Vikings this afternoon, 1450 days will have passed since these two franchises last squared off. Normally you don’t think of intra-conference games marking milestones, but this one does.

Because if the Steelers post Super Bowl XLV rebuilding project began with the Tebowing in the playoffs against Denver in January 2011, the rebuilding effort scratched rock bottom on September 29th, as the Vikings dropped the 2013 Steelers to 0-4.

  • To put this into perspective, the previous Steelers head coach to start 0-4 was Bill Austin, in 1968.

With that in mind, let’s look at how the Steelers have changed, and remained the same, since then.

Le'Veon Bell, Le'Veon Bell backflip touchdown, Le'Veon Bell backflip touchdown, Steelers vs Vikings, Steelers London

Le’Veon Bell scores his first touchdown in the Steelers loss to Vikings in London. Photo Credit: Daily Mail Online

1. Sort of Failing at Left Tackle is Like Being Sort of Pregnant

By the fall of 2013 the Steelers had relegated their “Plug ‘n Patch” approach to offensive line building to history. Indeed on that day they started Ramon Foster, David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert just as they will this afternoon (and they would have started Maurkice Pouency had he not been hurt.)

  • They also started Mike Adams at left guard.

Mike Adams didn’t represent any sort of Jonathan Scottesque attempt to get by on the cheap at left tackle. No, the Steelers invested a 2nd round pick in Mike Adams and made it very clear from the get go that they wanted him to win the starting job. He couldn’t do that as a rookie (and surprise, they turned again to Max Starks), but they gave him the job 2013.

  • The move was an epic fail, and the London loss to the Vikings was its supernova.

Adams struggled all day, and first and only time in his career, Ben Roethlisberger played like he had happy feet. The Vikings ended the game by sacking Roethlisberger, and while Adams didn’t directly allow the sack, he clearly didn’t win his battle at the line of scrimmage which helped collapse the pocket, paving the way for a sack.

The Vikings game in London marked Mike Adams final start at left tackle and Kelvin Beachum’s assent to the role.

2. Le’Veon Lived Up to the Hype, Jarvis Didn’t….

While neither he nor Mike Tomlin uttered the word “Rebuilding,” after the 2012 Steelers 8-8 finish Kevin Colbert as much as admitted changes were needed. Ergo, two key building blocks would come early in the Steelers 2013 Draft Class. One worked out, the other didn’t.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette scribe Ed Bouchette isn’t one to exaggerate, but even he seemed to be drinking a little Koolaid a big when he declared in July 2013 that Le’Veon Bell’s preseason debut “…will be one of the most-anticipated debuts by a Steelers rookie running back since Franco Harris took his first bows 41 years ago.”

  • Le’Veon Bell’s debut didn’t come until London thanks to his Lisfranc injury.

While Le’Veon Bell’s statistics were rather pedestrian on that afternoon, he did score two touchdowns, and flashed some of the ability that the Steelers offense has come to depend upon.

On the flip side, Jarvis Jones, who’d boldly requested number 95, was making his third start at outside linebacker for the Steelers. Jones had one tackle on the day and by any measure must be considered Kevin Colbert’s only true first round bust.

3. How Long Does It Take to Rebuild Defense? Four Years

One striking observation is that there’s been very little turnover in the Steelers offense since that fateful London day. Sure, Health Miller retired and the entire tight end depth chart has turned over (thanks to David Johnson’s waiver). But the line remains intact and that was the first game that the Killer Bees, Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown played together, and the trio has powered the offense since.

  • On defense you find an entirely different story.

Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark were still manning both safety spots. Ike Taylor was still starting at corner, and Cortez Allen, the unit’s rising star, returned to the line up to get burned on a 70 yard touchdown. Aside from William Gay, who was back after a one year hiatus in Pittsburgh West, the entire Steelers secondary has turned over since the London Loss.

Looking at the linebackers, Vince Williams was making his first NFL start, and if the rookie looked woefully unable to fill Larry Foote’s shoes, no one can argue he hasn’t grown into the role. But Vince Williams is the only Steelers linebacker left from the London Game (remember, James Harrison was in Cincinnati.)

If the Viking’s victory in London marked the Vince Williams first start, it also marked Ziggy Hood’s last one, as Mike Tomlin would name Cam Heyward starter after this game. The other starters that day were Steve McLendon, who was just taking over from Casey Hampton, and Brett Keisel. 1450 days later, the story remains the same on defensive line. Cam Heyward remains, everyone else is playing elsewhere or has begun “Life’s Work.”

4. Assistant Coaches Do Matter – See Mike Munchak’s Influence

People forget this, but Mike Adams wasn’t the only Steelers offensive lineman under fire 1450 days ago. Just one week earlier, in the Steelers loss to the Bears, Steelers coaches had rotated Kelvin Beachum on at both tackles.

While the Steelers offensive line improved during the course of 2013, Mike Tomlin quickly fired Jack Bicknell at season’s end and replaced him with Mike Munchak, and no one argues that the Steelers offensive line is far better for Munchak’s influence.

Young Money had been all the rage prior to 2013, but the promise of those young receivers was largely unrealized, as even Antonio Brown’s play was a little uneven by the end of 2012. Mike Tomlin responded by replacing Scottie Montgomery with Richard Mann, who has clearly transformed the Steelers wide receiving corps.

As Dick Hoak reminded everyone on the day he retired (after nearly 3 and half decades of serving as a Steelers assistant coach) NFL assistant coaches are “Hired to be fired.” He’s right. Often times assistant coaches act as the fall guys when either head coaches fail or draft picks flounder as busts.

But the additions of Richard Mann and Mike Munchak show that good assistant coaches can and do make a difference in the NFL.

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Steelers Draft Brian Allen in 5th Round, Amidst Familiar Carnell Lake Refrain

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The 5th round of the 2017 NFL Draft saw the Pittsburgh Steelers draft Brian Allen a cornerback from Utah.

Brian Allen was the second cornerback the Steelers took in this draft, after taking Cam Sutton with their first pick in the 3rd round of the Draft. Since drafting Senquez Golson in the 2nd round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Steelers have taken 4 cornerbacks in the last 3 drafts.

  • At 6’3” and weighing in at 215 pounds Allen represents the larger cornerback that the Steelers used to seek for their defense.

However, Brian Allen is a converted wide out who only has two years under his belt at corner, and one year as a starter. That college track record mirrors that of 1st round pick T.J. Watt, but unlike Watt, Allen’s combine times however were a little wanting.

Steelers draft Brian Allen, Brian Allen

Steelers 5th round pick Brian Allen intercepts a pass for Utah. Photo Credit: via USA Today’s SteelersWire.com

Steelers secondary coach Carnell Lake didn’t address Allen’s measurable but did suggest “I think with some more games under his belt, he probably would’ve been drafted a lot higher.”

If that sounds familiar, it should. After the Steelers drafted Shamarko Thomas in 2013 and Senquez Golson in 2015 Carnell Lake suggested that had both men been two inches taller they’d have been 1st round picks.

Welcome to 2017 ladies and gentleman, where even 6th round picks have their own highlight reels prepared for them.

The Steelers selection of Brian Allen adds him to a depth chart which includes starters Artie Burns, Ross Cockrell, veteran William Gay, Senquez Golson, Coty Sensabaugh, Cam Sutton and Al-Hajj Shabazz. Even if William Gay makes the rumored transition to safety, Brian Allen’s best bet is probably the practice squad.

That’s not a bad way to cut your teeth as a future Pittsburgh Steeler, as Chris Hoke, Jordan Dangerfield Steve McLendon and James Harrison can attest to. Welcome to Steelers Nation Brian Allen.

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