Tag Archives: Terry Bradshaw

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

Posted on by Standard 4

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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Steelers Re-Sign Darnell Washington – Where and How High Can Mt. Washington Grow?

Posted on by Standard 1

Contract extensions dominos are falling in Pittsburgh.

First came Nick Herbig and second comes Darnell Washington. The Steelers have reportedly extended the contract of tight end Darnell Washington for four years at a 42 million dollars. This came one day after Omar Khan extended Nick Herbig for 4 years and 100 million dollars.

Darnell Washington, Barrett Carter, Steelers vs Bengals

Darnell Washington dumps Barrett Carter. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Both players were part of the Steelers 2023 draft class, and like Herbig before him, Washington’s extension proves that Pittsburgh’s draft drought is over.

And the exciting thing? Well take a look below:

Yes, you’ve seen this video before. But let me assure you of something, if seeing that doesn’t stir your soul, then you’re not a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, because Darnell Washington is only scratching the surface of his potential.

The only questions are how high Washington’s career arc will extend and which exact direction will it take?

Where and How High Is Darnell Washington’s Ceiling with the Steelers?

On the latter front, Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell has been suggesting for years that Washington’s natural position is offensive tackle – standing at 6’7” and weighing in at over 300 pounds you can see why he’d be offensive line coach James Campen’s dream.

  • And there’s precedent in Pittsburgh for such a move.

Tight end Larry Brown caught the first touchdown pass from Terry Bradshaw in Steelers history during Super Bowl IX. Yet Brown transitioned from tight end to tackle after the 1976 season where he started through 1984.

Larry Brown, Super Bowl IX

Larry Brown catches a touchdown in Super Bowl XI. Photo Credit, Twitter, Vintage Steelers

As Tony Defeo pointed out, Chuck Noll was adamant that Larry Brown is one of the Super Steelers that should be in the Hall of Fame, and analysts outside of Pittsburgh agree he’d be there if he’d played his entire career at tackle.

The idea of moving Washington to tackle some day has been discussed with the previous coaching staff, but his new contract indicates that current Steelers brain trust sees him as a tight end.

Washington’s overall numbers are modest, but his production and performance have improved each and every season as his role in the offense continues to grow.

The clip above makes it easy to see why Darnell Washington has captivated the imagination of Steelers Nation the way no other tight end has since Eric Green. And, while Eric Green could have been Gronk before there was Gronk, expecting Washington to develop into a Rob Gronkowski-like player probably isn’t realistic.

Still, he gives Aaron Rodgers and whoever his successor is an incredibly unique downfield weapon. And, as someone who is already an excellent blocker, Darnell Washington is one of those rare players who moves people out of his way after he gets the ball in his hands.

Just ask Barrett Carter….

Where and how high can Darnell Washington go? That’s up to him. But fortunately for the Steelers, Mt. Washington will remain in Pittsburgh the next several years.

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Steelers 2026 Draft Class Emphasizes Offense and Versatility

Posted on by Standard 2

The 2026 NFL Draft is in the history books.

Record crowds came to Pittsburgh. We saw a veritable parade of Steelers Hall of Famers strut the stage, from Jerome Bettis, to Mel Blount, to Lynn Swann & John Stallworth to Hines Ward. Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger embraced.

Omar Khan and Mike McCarthy selected 10 players to form the Steelers 2026 Draft Class. Khan traded up twice, traded down once, made one rather infamous phone call, and closed the draft with a hometown hero story that Barry Levinson couldn’t have scripted better. (Hum, could Levinson, a Baltimore native, have had a hand in scripting the Lemon trade….?)

Steelers 2026 draft picks Germie Bernard, Daylen Everette, Drew Allar and Gennings Dunker.

Germie Bernard, Daylen Everette, Drew Allar and Gennings Dunker. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, Steelers.com

Before we can unpack what it all means, let’s take a look at the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Steelers 2026 Draft Class at a Glance:

Round 1: Max Iheanachor, Offensive Tackle, Arizona State
Round 2: Germie Bernard, Wide Receiver, Alabama
Round 3: Drew Allar, Quarterback, Penn State
Round 3: Daylen Everette, Cornerback, Georgia
Round 3: Gennings Dunker, Guard, Iowa
Round 4: Kaden Wetjen, Return Specialist/WR, Iowa
Round 5: Riley Nowakowski, Fullback, Indiana
Round 6: Gabriel Rubio, Defensive End, Notre Dame
Round 7: Robert Spears-Jennings, Safety, Oklahoma
Round 7: Eli Heidenreich, Running Back-Wide Receiver, Navy

So what grade do Khan and McCarthy get for this draft?

Ask me in 5 years.

Seriously. Chuck Noll waited 5 years to judge draft classes, and if that was good enough for him, it is good enough for me. With that said the Steelers 2026 draft class has already given us a few early lessons.

The obvious one is that Khan and McCarthy leaned in heavily on offense. Given the JVness of the Steelers offenses in 2023, 2024 and 2025 that’s logical. But there are other, deeper lessons to be found.

Putting the Malik Lemon Draft-Day Miss in Historical Perspective

As everyone knows, Omar Khan was on the phone with Malik Lemon while Dallas was on the clock, only to have the Eagles trade up and draft Lemon, leaving the Steelers to scramble and draft Max Iheanachor instead.

The social media general managers in Steelers Nation pounced, torching Omar Khan for mishandling the situation.

Let’s put this phone call and the draft day “miss” with Malik Lemon into perspective…

…Once upon a time the NFL had an 800 pound gorilla that dominated the draft. This gorilla used the draft to transform a team that won 4 games in two seasons into a team that won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years with only 3-year ramp. The gorilla’s name was Jimmy Johnson

During the 1992 NFL Draft, Johnson sent an assistant coach, contract in hand, to Leon Searcy’s home. The idea was to draft Searcy, sign him and get him on a plane before the ink dried.

Alas Jimmy Johnson ran into a little problem.

Tom Donahoe and Bill Cowher drafted Leon Searcy before he could. This was long before the digital age, yet the story dominated draft coverage on Big 3, CNN and especially ESPN….

…Except it didn’t.

The world had to wait for Jim Wexell’s On the Clock to tell that story.

Leon Searcy was an excellent tackle and, in the Heinz Field era, likely would have been a life-long Steeler. But after missing out on Searcy, Jimmy Johnson traded down and drafted Kevin Smith.

Emmit Smith, Levon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd, Carnell Lake, Steelers vs Cowboys, Super Bowl XXX, Super Bowl 30

Levon Kirkland and Greg Lloyd tackle Emmitt Smith in Super Bowl XXX. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Kevin Smith played 103 games for the Dallas Cowboys, started 93 of them, made 19 interceptions, forced 7 fumbles and made UPI’s 2nd team All-Conference squad in 1996. He retired with 3 Super Bowl rings, including one for the Cowboys win over the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.

The moral of the story is this: Judge not by who you missed, but who you picked after pivoting.

Why Versatility Defines the Steelers 2026 Draft Class

“Versatile.” “We won’t know exactly how he fits until we see him work with the group as a whole.” In some form or fashion, we heard those words from the Steelers coaching staff throughout the 2026 NFL Draft.

  • Yet, many Steelers commentators acted as if that’s a bad thing.

This started with the Eagles swooping in to draft Malik Lemon, forcing the Steelers to go back to their board and draft Max Iheanachor instead. Judging by his non-verbal behavior, Mike McCarthy was: 1. Glad to get Ihenachor and 2: Had little idea of how he’d fit into the Steelers line up.

  • Let’s embrace the elephant in the room.

Watching a beaming head coach or general manager explain exactly how a first round pick fits into their system breeds confidence.

But let’s acknowledge the flip side: The NFL Draft is a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.

The point is that one of the worst things an NFL coaching staff can do is try to force players into a system that’s not suited for them. Bill Parcells drafted James Farrior as an outside linebacker where he was OK. Kevin Colbert brought him to Pittsburgh, Bill Cowher moved him inside, and he’s one of the best Steelers free agent signings ever.

By and large, forcing guys into systems they were unsuited for wasn’t a major issue during the Tomlin era.

But those who remember Joe Walton and Kevin Gilbride stints as offensive coordinator know just how caustic coaches trying to force square pegs into round holes can be.

Based on the post-draft press conferences, this won’t be an issue under Mike McCarthy.

The Draft = NFL’s Land of Hope and Dreams

It is fitting that the Steelers book-ended 2026 NFL Draft with Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw hugging and drafting Mt. Lebanon native Eli Heidenreich because the draft is all about reconciling hopes with dreams.

Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw hug at the 2026 NFL Draft.

Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw hug at the 2026 NFL Draft. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, Steelers.com

It will be a while before we know how strong the Steelers 2026 Draft Class is. If 5 of the 10 newest Steelers “make it” as pro football players then that will make this draft an outstanding success.

Some guys won’t make the cut. Injuries will fell others. At least one will be a numbers game causality. That’s just the harsh reality of the NFL.

  • But let’s worry about that another day.

The NFL draft is a veritable “Land of Hopes and Dreams” (yes, that’s an intentional shout out to Springsteen.) Omar Khan and Mike McCarthy gave 10 men legitimate hope of realizing their NFL dream. Let’s let them enjoy that for a time, and as they continue to strive to be the best they can be.

And best of all? They’ll do it in Black and Gold.

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Mike Tomlin Steelers Legacy: 19 Years of Winning in Pittsburgh

Posted on by Standard 1

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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Expect the Unexpected: Steelers Lose to Bengals 33-31 @ Paycor

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The Pittsburgh Steelers arrived at Paycor Stadium riding a 3-game winning streak and left dropping a 33-31 decision to the Cincinnati Bengals. The loss left Steelers Nation with two bitter pills to swallow:

  • Pittsburgh’s 45-year losing streak in Thursday Night division road games continues
  • The Steelers will not win the AFC North in 2025 in a walk

This was a game defined by unexpected twists, both of which might reveal a little insight into these 2025 Steelers. One of those twists is amounted to a pleasant surprise, while the other is outright alarming.

Ja'Marr Chase, Payton Wilson, Dehon Elliott, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals Thursday Night Football

Neither Payton Wilson nor can stop Ja’Marr Chase. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

20 Minutes of Meeting Expectations

The Cincinnati Bengals were reeling. They’d lost three straight. Their offensive line was supposedly weak, their defense soft.

In contrast, the Steelers had won three. They were they looking sharper each week. And unlike other winning streaks in the post-Roethlisberger era, the Steelers winning games as opposed finding ways to avoid losing them.

  • So the pundits were favoring Pittsburgh.

During the game’s first 20 minutes those pundits looked pretty smart. Cincinnati won the toss, deferred, and Arthur Smith’s offense immediately made them pay in a 9 play drive highlighted by:

Teryl Austin’s defense laid in without mercy. Cam Heyward swallowed Chase Brown on the Bengals first play holding him to two yards. On the next play, Keeanu Benton and T.J. Watt sacked Joe Flacco. Four plays later, Cincinnati punted.

By the time Chris Boswell was splitting the uprights at the 10:31 mark, the expectation was that Mason McCormick false start penalty that scuttled the Steelers 4th and 1 attempt would be nothing more than a footnote in route to a lopsided victory.

But “Unexpected” waiting in the wings, and looking to strike.

Live by the Turnover, Die by the Turnover?

Throughout this decade, turnovers have been a stable of the Steelers formula for winning. Indeed, the ‘23 defense had an uncanny knack for securing a turnover exactly when the Steelers needed it.

Four elements make turnovers (potentially) transformational events:

1. They rob an offense of a scoring opportunity
2. They shift that scoring opportunity to the opponents
3. They can knock the offending team off balance
4. They can energize a losing team, shifting momentum

Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions in the 2nd quarter. The Cincinnati Bengals took command of the game by exploiting all four of the above elements. Bengals defensive back Jordan Battle’s fingerprints were still fresh on the ball when Cincinnati unleashed…

Chase Brown, Deshon Elliott, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

DeShon Elliott chases Chase Brown. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Chase Brown, who instantly gashed the Steelers defense for 37 yards. Two plays later, Joe Flacco reached Tee Higgins in the end zone to give Cincinnati the lead.

There were lots of ways a smart analysts could see the Cincinnati Bengals upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night.

  • Precisely none of them featured Chase Brown averaging just under 10 yards a carry.

Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin found a way to limit Brown, but he’d done his damage – he’d knocked the Steelers defense off balance, opening the door rest of the Bengals offense streamed through.

Do Steelers Have a Secondary? Or Is it a Sieve?

Going into the game Mike Tomlin made no bones about the fact that he and Omar Khan went out and signed Darius Slay and traded for Jalen Ramsey to accompany Joey Porter Jr. and keep pace with Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.

  • To be fair, Jalen Ramsey did force a field goal by batting away end zone pass away from Tee Higgins.

That was good. But outside of that, the Steelers might has well have been fielding Alvoid Mays, Donnell Woolford and Antwon Blake at cornerback with Travis Davis and Scott Shields manning down safety.

Joe Flacco connected with Ja’Marr Chase to put up a Nintendo like 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. In the rare moments when Flacco failed to find Chase, he hooked up with Higgins, Andrei Iosivas or Noah Fant with unsettling ease.

Tee Higgins, Chuck Clark, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

Tee Higgins runs over Chuck Clark. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Going into the game, the expectation of a 342 yard passing day by Flacco would have indicated either a Bengals blowout or a lot of garbage time glory.

But what no one expected was the shoot out that ensued.

Tight Ends Get Steelers Out of a Tight Spot

Credit Amazon’s Kirk Herbstreit for asking the quiet question out loud after the Steelers feel behind by 10 points midway through the third quarter: “How can the Steelers comeback with this offense?”

Herbstreit wasn’t throwing shade when he observed that D.K. Metcalf was the offense’s only legitimate receiver and then openly dismissed Scotty Miller and Roman Wilson. Arthur Smith certainly didn’t hear Herbstreit’s comments from the booth, but he certainly pulled an unexpected answer out of his sleeve:

  • He unleashed his tight ends.

The proposition that Pittsburgh could use their tight ends to offset a thin depth chart at wide receiver was an iffy one going into the season. But numbers don’t lie:

  • Darnell Washington had 3 catches for 2 yards – but one of those was for a touchdown
  • Jonnu Smith had 3 grabs for 28 yards and a touchdown
  • Previously invisible Pat Freiermuth exploded for 5 catches for 111 yards and 2 TDs

Smith’s tight end-centric passing game might not be sustainable, but for a night it worked against the Bengals.

In fact, it might have worked a little too well….

Thou Shalt Not… Run?

The Steelers losing streak in Thursday Night division games began on December 4th, 1980 with a 6-0 loss to the Houston Oilers in the Astrodome. The game was proverbially ‘past my bed time” so I didn’t get to see it.

But I remember my older brother telling me in the morning before school, “It was a tight game all the way.” When I heard the 6-0 score I asked, “Why didn’t they just throw it to Swann?” “They tried to get it to Swann but couldn’t,” my brother explianed.

Later that night I saw highlights on Washington’s Channel 9 local news, Maureen Bunyan* confirmed that “…and there were no Bradshaw to Swann game saves” and that the loss locked the Steelers out of the AFC Central race, likely meaning no One for the Thumb.

That memory introduces a bit of irony because Lynn Swann’s number was 88 which Pat Freiermuth wears today.

Number 88 featured prominently on Pittsburgh’s final possession, but 30 is the number coaches should have focused on.

  • Jaylen Warren had run like a back begging to take over a game.

Yet, Arthur Smith went with an empty set on first down with just over 2 minutes left, targeting Darnell Washington for naught. Smith still could have called a running play on second down. Instead he remained in an empty set and Broderick Jones got called for holding on second down.

Calling a pass play on 2nd and 20 made sense. But it also had unintended consequences.

Pat Freiermuth, Jordan Battle, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

Pat Freiermuth stiff arms Jordan Battle en route to the end zone. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

And there, Aaron Rodgers found a wide-open Pat Freiermuth who raced 68 yards to the end zone putting Pittsburgh ahead. For the moment.

  • There was still 2:21 seconds left on the clock – far too much time.

Joe Flacco did what he’d done all evening – play catch Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, storming down the Pittsburgh’s 7 at a leisurely pace. There, they took several knees to kill the clock and kicked a field goal, leaving the Steelers with just 7 seconds for one desperate Hail Mary.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is you simultaneously end a 3 game regular season winning streak and continue a 45 year Thursday Night Football losing streak.

*DC area residents from that era will note that this of course makes no logical sense. Maureen Bunyan was the co-anchor while Glenn Brenner did sports. But that’s how my memory tells the story. So that’s how we tell it here.

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Steelers Draft Derrick Harmon in 1st Round of 2025 NFL Draft

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Omar Khan described it as “an easy choice.” Mike Tomlin claimed “He has Steeler DNA” and with that the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Derrick Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Derrick Harmon played defensive tackle for Oregon in 2024 after playing his first three collegiate years in Michigan State. Harmon stands at 6’4” and a half and weighs 313. His 45 tackles, with 101⁄2 for loss, five sacks and four passes batted away in 13 starts were enough to earn him second team All American honors.

Derrick Harmon, Derrick Harmon Steelers 2025 first round draft pick.

Mett Derrick Harmon, the Steelers 2025 First Round Draft pick. Photo Credit: Post-Gazette.com

Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell rated Derrick Harmon as number 7 on his annual “Ass Kickers List” and his scribe Matt C. Steel declared “Harmon might be the guy that the Steelers tell the Chiefs ‘unless the player we like is still on the board.’”

Going into the 2024 season not only was the defensive line not seen as a weakness for the Steelers, it was viewed as a potentially rising strength.

Things looked very different when finishing Thanksgiving leftovers gave way to the Christmas rush as the Steelers were schooled by Derrick Henry first in the regular season, then again in the ridiculing suffered at the hands of the Ravens in the playoffs.

  • Mike Tomlin did not blink when asked if this factored into the Steelers plans.

When asked if it was important to beef up his defensive line, he volunteered “Extreme urgency to be quite honest with you.” When asked if the struggles of his run defense fueled that urgency, Tomlin leaned in again detailing:

The tape is the tape, and so we’re behaving appropriately. You don’t have a chance to have a top-notch defense unless you’re smashing the run and getting after the quarterback, and this is a guy whose résumé says he’s capable of contributing in both areas.

Harmon’s name had been linked to the Steelers as soon as the pre-draft process began, but Pittsburgh had also been linked to Kenneth Grant, a nose tackle from Michigan. The thinking was that the Steelers need a big man in the center, akin to a modern day Casey Hampton, to stuff the run and allow Keeanu Benton to move from nose to end, as Gerald Williams had once done.

Grant was off  the board long before the Steelers got their chance to pick, and Tomlin dashed any hopes of Harmon going to nose “I don’t think nose is his game, but the rush component at three and five, and some of those things, certainly.”

Video Highlights of Derrick Harmon

Here’s a quick look at some of Harmon’s highlights from his days with the Ducks and Spartans

https://youtu.be/SZKFszoOzCw?si=66txqDK8a2HirUeu

 

Hopefully, Derrick Harmon can quickly deploy some of that run stuffing magic against Derrick Henry.

Historical Resonance with Harmon

Derrick Harmon has been compared stylistically to Cam Heyward. Cam Heyward was the last defensive lineman drafted by the Steelers in the first round back in the 2011 NFL Draft. On that evening Kevin Colbert broke form and declared it to be a “Historic day for the franchise.”

  • Neither Omar Khan nor Mike Tomlin were ready to take that plunge last night.

But the selection resonates with Steelers history in other ways. The Pittsburgh Steelers went into the 1969 NFL Draft facing a lot of pressure to draft a quarterback. Terry Hanratty was a hometown hero and a Notre Dame grad to boot at a time when Pittsburgh was still predominantly Catholic.

He did take Hanratty in the second round, but that didn’t stop him from picking Terry Bradshaw a year later. Here in 2025 the Steelers admit to their need to add a quarterback, and many expected them to draft Shedeur Sanders. (Mel Kipper blasted them for not doing so. That’s another reason to like Harmon).

Like Noll before him, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan kept their own counsel and drafted the defensive tackle. They could easily follow Noll’s template and draft a quarterback next. Expecting history to repeat itself isn’t realistic, but the Steelers and Derrick Harmon have already created some historical resonance.

Welcome to Steelers Nation Derrick Harmon.

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The Late Craig Wolfley Made a “Wolf-Sized” Contribution to the Pittsburgh Steelers

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Does the man maketh the name? Or does the name maketh the man?

  • No one knows. The age-old question defies answer.

But we do know this: Pittsburgh Steelers legend, the late Craig Wolfley certainly lived up to his nickname “Wolf” in the best possible sense of the word.

Craig Wolfley died in the early hours of Monday, March, 10th 2025 after a brief battle with cancer. He was a devout Christian, beloved by his family, his teammates, co-workers friends and fans alike. We will miss him sorely.

Here we celebrate his life and contributions to the institution that is the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Craig Wolfley, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

Franco Harris and Craig Wolfley – two Steelers legends. Photo Credit: Scott Boehm, AP via The Athletic

Too Late for Super Bowls, Too Early for Free Agency

Fresh off of victory in Super Bowl XIV and gunning for “One for the Thumb” the Pittsburgh Steelers took Craig Wolfley in the 5th round of the 1980 NFL Draft. Alas, that choice put Wolfley in the vanguard of a generation of Steelers who were “too late for Super Bowls, too early for free agency.”

If one wants to understand the essence of Craig Wolfley the story of his introduction to the franchise is priceless.

Shortly after shelving his 4th Lombardi, Chuck Noll traveled to Syracuse to personally scout Wolfley. Actually, “scout” is the wrong word. Noll worked Wolfley out. And Noll didn’t just put Wolfley through the paces, he physically pass rushed him while teaching him the “’Art of the Punch.’”

After several attempts, Wolfley still wasn’t getting it. Noll’s frustration grew evident. As Wolfley explains in Jim Wexell’s On the Clock:

…At Long Last, Chuck lined up in a three-point stance across from me and growled, ‘Now let me feel you punch me!’ I knew it was now or never.
In a mild to escalating state of panic, I lined up. Chuck rushed and I threw an uppercut. I punched him. Boom! I mean, I let him have it. Unfortunately, I was a little errant with my punch. My right hand glanced off Chuck’s shoulder and popped him in the mouth. I mean, his head snapped back like a Pez dispenser. I hit him right in the grille.

That’s Wolfley in a nutshell. Giving his all in trying circumstances, trying something new circumstances, unleashing calibrated violence to excel in the most physical of physical games. And finally, describing with vivid creativity that was his signature as a writer and radio commentator – who else has ever compared Chuck Noll to a pez dispenser?

While Noll finished the session extolling, “’Now that’s a punch!’” Wolfley called his parents informing, “’We can take the Steelers off the grade board for me. NO way they’ll draft me.’”

But they of course did draft him and Steelers Nation should be thankful.

Wolfley Living Up to His Name

The wolf is a fascinating creature.

Wolves are cunning hunters, who yield their prey no quarter. Craig Wolfley excelled in the trenches, playing with the ferocity of an apex predator.

Wolves are social animals, loyal to their packs. Alpha wolves look out for, nurture and protect weaker members of the pack. Craig Wolfley was an alpha of the Steelers squads of the 80’s, and he was the consummate teammate.

Craig Wolfley, Tunch Ilkin, Heniz Field

Craig Wolfley and Tunch Ilkin outside Heinz Field, cerca 2014. Photo Credit: Issuu.com

This story that Kirk Mcjunkin (Who? That’s the point) told Ron Lippock at Steelers Takeaways illustrates this brilliantly:

When Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley arrived later in camp, those two were wonderful with me. The faith and honor – their attitudes were terrific. They told me I was a Steeler whether I made the team later or not, and what that meant. That unselfishness they showed to me in helping me perfect my craft was special. And that craft was more than just about technique. It was about what it meant to be a Steelers offensive lineman. I learned the ropes because of those two.

And, like a good Alpha, Wolfley protected his own. In his writings on Steelers Digest and Steel City Insider, Wolfley made it clear that, while he preferred to play by the rules, he was ready, willing and able to administer a little NHL-style justice when necessary. Defenders who took cheapshots at Terry Bradshaw, Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone or Bubby Brister found this out the hard way.

Wolves, despite their likeness to dogs, can’t be domesticated. But wolves can be incredibly friendly with humans. (Got doubts? See the documentary, Living with Wolves.)

In addition to football, Wolfley was an avid weight lifter, he boxed, did sumo wrestling and practiced several martial arts.

But he was fundamentally, a gregarious soul, generous with his time with player, the larger community and fans. Like Franco Harris before him, Wolfley’s involvement and efforts to support charitable and faith-based organizations through the Greater Pittsburgh Area are too numerous to list.

Steelers + Wolfley = Win-Win for All

Craig Wolfley’s tenure with the Steelers spanned the entire 1980’s. That left his hands bare of Super Bowl rings, but that experience lent unique authority to his voice as a Steelers commentator.

When Wolfley praised a Steelers team or player for achieving to their fullest potential, you knew he was speaking the truth, because this was a player who was mentored by the Super Steelers.

Craig Wolfley, Merril Hoge, Steelers vs Jets, 1988 Steelers

Craig Wolfley blocks for Merril Hoge in 1988. Photo Credit: NFL.PlayerEngagement.com

When he defended Bill Cowher or Mike Tomlin, explaining that “this isn’t about the X’s and O’s but about the Jim’s and Joe’s,” Wolfley’s words carried uncanny weight. After all, he was a man who helped Chuck Noll author some of his finest coaching moments, such as the 1984 upsets of the otherwise would have been undefeated San Francisco 49ers and the playoff upset of the Broncos.

  • On the flip side, when Wolfely declared things were bad, you knew things were bad.

Following the Steelers 2024 Christmas Day loss to the Chiefs, Wolfley called it a “cheese grater game” warning that:

…the lasting effects of the ‘cheese grater’ is what worries me. A cheese grater will leave a mark, take off skin, or draw blood in the event of an accident. In other words, it’s going to hurt. And right now, the Steelers have a brief period of relief in which to right the ship that is floundering.

When Wolfley sounded like that, you knew the Steelers were in trouble.

Yet, throughout the tumultuous years following Ryan Shazier’s injury (yes folks, that’s when the Ben Roethlisberger era’s Super Bowl window slammed shut), Wolfley remained a voice of reason.

After each ugly loss, Wolfley would be there on the pages of Steel City Insider, talking Steelers Nation off of its collective edge. Wolfley, by his own account was an enteral optimist.

  • But Wolfley founded his optimism in realism not naiveté.

After all, this is a man who suffered through the 1989 Steelers 51-0 opening day loss to the Browns, its 92-10 start to the season, its 3 shut outs, only to help forge a late season comeback that led to the New Year’s Eve Wild Card upset of Jerry Glanville’s Houston Oilers.

As an NFL player, Wolfley had not only been to the edge, but he looked far enough down to know that oftentimes those edges are only as deep as you make them. When times got tough, Wolfey would remind everyone of what Chuck Noll drilled into his team, “If everyone can be 1% better, we’ll be 47% better as a team.”

  • That’s not only a sound football lesson, it’s a healthy way to approach life.

Together, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Craig Wolfley finished the 1980’s with a .500 record.

In mathematical terms they’d say both finished the decade in equilibrium. But sometimes numbers do lie.

Craig Wolfley didn’t merely make a “break-even” contribution to the legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he made wolf-sized contribution.

Craig Wolfley is survived by his wife, Faith, and daughters Megan, Hannah, and Esther, and sons, Kyle, “CJ”, and “Max” and will be missed by everyone in Steelers Nation. Please keep him and them in your thoughts and prayers.

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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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John Facenda Belongs in the Hall of Fame. 2 Stories Illustrate Why

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Browsing through Twitter er um, X a few days ago a tweet by Kevin Gallagher caught my attention.

John Facenda was a Philadelphia radio and TV journalist who did narration work for NFL Films starting in 1965 and through the early 1980s.

John Facenda

So why, do you ask, does he belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Let’s begin looking at the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s guidelines:

To be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Contributor, an individual must have made significant contributions to professional football in a capacity other than playing or coaching.

So, did John Facenda make “significant contributions to professional football in a capacity other than playing or coaching? Well, let me share two stories, and you decide.

Dateline, Fall 1996, Cincinnati, Ohio.
At age 24 I’m a few months into my year of volunteer service with the (now defunct) Marianist Voluntary Service Communities and working at People Working Cooperatively, a non-profit construction-home repair company that today continues to make the difference in the lives of thousands people in the Greater Cincinnati Metro Area.

I’m sitting in the office shooting the shit with our corporate Controller, Bob Purvis. Even though Bob’s a Cincinnati Bengals fan and he knows I’m a Steelers fan we hit it off immediately and talked football early and often.

I have no idea what the thread of this conversation was, I make some sort of reference to the Ice Bowl, and then immediately started to imitate the NFL Film’s narration of “…on the frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field, Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers….” I refer to “that guy who did the voice overs” and Bob informs me, “Yeah, his name was John Facenda. He was great.”

AT that point Facenda had been dead for 13 years, and while clips of his work certainly had been featured on network TV or ESPN, the days had long past since his voice was a staple of weekly NFL football.

Yet Bob and I remembered him immediately, and this further cemented our bond of friendship.

Dateline, the wee hours of December 26th, 2016, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Steelers had just come back to beat the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field on Christmas night with the Immaculate Extension.

I’ve just finished watching the game on tape delay, as is my custom I text my friend, Gustavo Vallegos, (El Dr. de Acero), asking if he’s seen the game yet. He confirms he has, and I let him know I’ve seen it. Spoiler alerts exchanged and disgarded, this was Gustavo’s immediate response:

“Que partido impresonante! El unico que falta era la narracion del John Facenda.”

For those who don’t speak Spanish, that’s “What an incredible game, the only thing  that was missing was narration by John Facenda.”

Let that sink in for a minute.

Gustavo Vallegos has lived in Argentina his entire life. He didn’t start watching American football until either the Steelers 1994 or 1995 season (fun fact, ESPN Deportes lost the signal to Super Bowl XXX early in the 4th quarter and Gus had to wait days to find out the outcome.)

So not only did Gus not grow up listening to John Facenda in the background, he became acquainted and self-educated in the game during the digital age’s infancy – long before you could just punch “Ice Bowl” into your phone and take in the NFL Films documentary while Collectivo 176 is taking you to work at Sanatorio Modelo de Caseros.

Yet, Gus’ immediate reaction after watching the last true epic regular season win of the Roethlisberger Era was to invoke the voice of John Facenda.

I’d call that a “significant contribution.”

Still not sold? Then check out Facenda’s narration of the Steelers win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV.

Yes, the play of Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Jack Lambert and Franco Harris made Super Bowl XIV a great. But, by lending his voice to their exploits, John Facenda immortalized their legend.

It is time to put John Facenda in the Hall of Fame.

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What to Make of the Steelers “Maginot” Offensive Line?

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to kickoff their celebration of the 1974 Super Bowl IX championship team at half time when the New York Jets come to Acrisure Stadium for Sunday Night football.

  • As Tony Dungy noted on Instagram, there’s a historical parallel emerging in real time.

In week 7 of the 1974 season Chuck Noll benched Joe Gilliam who was 4-1-1 in favor of the veteran Terry Bradshaw. And here in week 7 in 2024, all indicators point to Mike Tomlin benching Justin Fields, who is 4-2 as a starter, in favor of veteran Russell Wilson.

James Daniels, James Daniels guardian cap

James Daniels at Acrisure Stadium. Photo Credit: Kylee Surike, PennLive.com

That’s a great story and an awesome piece of historical symmetry that – God willing – will sustain itself through February.

But a tweet from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac has me reaching further back into history for another parallel.

 

Will we remember 2024 as the year the Maginot Line reached Pittsburgh?

The Maginot Line in 88 Words

World War I was fought in muddy trenches in Northern and Eastern France. Determined to avoid a repeat, France spent 3.9 billion dollars building the Maginot Line along the German border.

The Maginot Line featured the best weapons and best fortification that money could buy, including air conditioning and its own subway.

But for all its bells and whistles, the Maginot Line was a complete failure. When Germany attacked in 1940 it went around, over or otherwise ignored France’s border defenses, securing victory in a few short weeks.

The Backstory Behind the Steelers 2024 Offensive Line

For a good chunk of the teens the Steelers had the best offensive line in the business. Then a combination of age, injury and Salary Cap Armageddon forced them to rebuild overnight.

Between the playoff loss against Cleveland in 2020 and opening day 2021 the Steelers fielded 4 new starters on offensive line. But rebuilding on the fly on the cheap didn’t work. Dan Moore is the only starter from that 2021 opening-day offensive line that remains.

Since then, Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan have invested heavily in the offensive line. And they’re playing the long game in both free agency and the draft

James Daniels, 2022 free agent signing
Nate Herbig, 2023 free agent signing
Isaac Seumalo, 2023 free agent signing

Broderick Jones, First round draft pick 2023 NFL Draft
Troy Fautanu, First round draft pick 2024 NFL Draft
Zach Fraizer, 2nd round draft pick, 2024 NFL Draft
Mason McCormick, 4th round draft pick 2024 NFL Draft

The plan was for the line was to be rock that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith built is Bill Cowheresque offensive around.

But the Steelers will take the field against the Jets with Daniels, Herbig, Fautanu on injured reserve, Frazier out with an injury, Broderick Jones playing with an injured elbow, Seumalo starting just his third game due to injury and McCormick starting for Daniels.

So yes it does feel like Khan and company have built the football equivalent of the Maginot line in Pittsburgh. But that feeling is where the analogy should end.

The Maginot Line is a textbook example of a country preparing for the last war instead of the next one. In contrast, investing in the offensive line is always a sound strategy in football, at any level.

The Steelers have just has an incredibly bad streak of luck in terms of injuries on the offensive line.

  • But that hardly dooms the Terry Bradshaw-Russell Wilson parallel.

The last time the Steelers had to rebuild their offensive line in season was 2008.  It did not go smoothly, but it did end with Ben Roethlisberger holding the Lombardi on the dais after Super Bowl XLIII asking, “Offensive line, who’s laughing now?”

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