Tag Archives: Dermontti Dawson

Nick Herbig Extension Shows Steelers Drafting Has Turned a Corner

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Omar Khan kicked off minicamp by opening his checkbook as the Steelers re-signed Nick Herbig to a 4-year contract extension worth a reported 100 million dollars including over 40 million in guaranteed money.

The immediate focus of Steelers Nation is if and how Herbig’s new deal impacts the futures of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, but the bigger picture behind Herbig’s extension is what it signals about the team’s direction.

Nick Herbig, Steelers vs Bengals

Nick Herbig strip sacks Joe Burrow. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Early Herbig Extension Signals End of Steelers Draft Drought

The Steelers drafted Nick Herbig in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s now entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Omar Khan opened the off season by listing Herbig as a player he wanted to re-sign before he reached free agency.

  • This is not something Steelers Nation is accustomed to — at least not in recent memory.

But once upon a time, things were different in Pittsburgh. In the spring of 1993, the NFL’s first year free agency, owners were tripping over themselves throwing money at players, trying to buy a Lombardi.

In Pittsburgh Dan Rooney and Tom Donahoe took a different approach, quietly extending players like Dermontti Dawson and Greg Lloyd who were entering the final years of their contracts.

  • That practice became standard Steelers operating procedure for the next two and a half decades.
  • But the maturation of the Steelers 2018 draft class marked a turning point.

Terrell Edmunds, Mason Rudolph, Chukwuma Okorafor, Diontae Johnson, Alex Highsmith and Pat Freiermuth were only the players from the Steelers 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 draft to get second contracts.

Alex Highsmith, Tom Brady, Steelers vs Buccaneers

Alex Highsmith strip sacks Tom Brady. Photo Credit: Barry Reeger, HJ News.com

Highsmith, Freiermuth, Johnson and Rudolph were the only ones to the Steelers re-signed while they were still playing on rookie contracts, and out of that group only Highsmith and Freiermuth got long-term starter deals.

In contrast, the Steelers have already re-signed Herbig, and want to ink new deals with Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton and perhaps Darnell Washington this summer.

  • Word is they would have given Broderick Jones his 5th year rookie tender had he not been hurt.

Barring injury or an unanticipated regression, Omar Khan will likely take a similar approach with several members of the Steelers 2024 Draft class next spring.

The Steelers playoff drought started with the loss to the Patriots in the 2017 AFC Championship game. Their quality of their drafts dipped precipitously starting in 2018 and continued through the rest of Kevin Colbert’s tenure.

  • But Herbig’s early extension shows that the Steelers draft drought is over.

The Steelers not only have a draft pick going into his 4th year who is worthy of a long-term extension, hopefully Herbig is the first of many.

Let’s hope that Herbig and the rest of his draft class make some playoff rain with Mike McCarthy.

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Steelers 2026 NFL Draft Needs at Guard and Center: Stability Meets Uncertainty

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Omar Khan and Andy Weidl’s first major personnel move with the Steelers was to sign Isaac Seumalo.

Isaac Seumalo was their first building block in their end-to-end makeover of the Steelers’ offensive line. The process began in 2023 and by 2025 it was complete, as Khan and Weidl has replaced the entire starting offensive line.

But the Steelers let Semalo walk in free agency, so does that mean that Khan and Weidl need to address guard in the 2026 NFL Draft?

Spencer Anderson lines up at Acrisure Stadium

Spencer Anderson in 2024. Photo Credit: Times Observer.

The Steelers Center and Guard Depth Charts Entering the 2026 NFL Draft – The Starters

The Steelers interior offensive line is anchored by Zach Frazier, whom Khan and Weidl drafted in the 2nd round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Going into the draft there was speculation the Steelers might draft the West Virginia native first, and based on his play over two years we can see why.

Frazier still needs to improve to before we begin mentioning with names like “Mansfield,” “Webster,” “Dawson,” “Hartings“and “Pouncey“, but everything he has shown thus far indicates he can become that person.

Playing to the Fraizer’s right is Mason McCormick, whom Pittsburgh picked in the 4th round of the 2025 NFL Draft. McCormick got thrown into the starting line up earlier than expected due to injuries to Seumalo and then James Daniels, but has played well and the right side of the Steelers offensive line is shaping up to be a strength.

The Steelers Center and Guard Depth Chart Entering the 2026 NFL Draft – The Backups

Just how versatile is Spencer Anderson? Well, unlike any of the other players on the offensive line he has caught a pass from Aaron Rodgers. He can also play tackle and guard and that’s what makes the Steelers decision at guard, and also offensive tackle so interesting.

The Steelers drafted Spencer Anderson in the 7th round of the 2023 NFL Draft and today could be penciled in at guard right now. Or perhaps he could be in the mix at tackle. Or the Steelers could value his versatility as swing tackle third tight end for the team’s “Jumbo Package” assuming Mike McCarthy continues to use that.

Either way he gives the team options, but the decision McCarthy and his staff must make is whether Spencer can be a long-term starter at guard.

Behind Anderson and Fraizer, the Steelers have Brock Hoffman and Ryan McCollum, two interior lineman who can play both guard and center. The Steelers list Steven Jones, Sataoa Laumea, and Aiden Williams listed as guards. They also have Doug Nester and Lorenzo Thompson listed as offensive lineman.

Steelers 2026 Draft Needs at Center and Guard

If the Steelers situation at interior offensive line is complicate, center is simple. With Zach Frazier on board center is one of the areas where the Steelers can afford to pass on a blue-chip prospect in favor of drafting a different player at an area of need. So Steelers draft needs at center are borderline Negligible.

The Pittsburgh Steelers draft needs scale

Guard is a different story on its own, and the plot takes an even bigger twist when you consider the situation at offensive tackle.

Spencer Anderson is a capable player, but if the next Alan Faneca or even the next David DeCastro falls to the Steelers they can’t afford to let him walk. With that said, Pittsburgh does have more depth at guard than they do at tackle, so the Steelers need at guard going into the 2026 NFL Draft should be considered Moderate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Steelers Fan Confesses to “Youthful Indiscretion”

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

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

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

  • But my older brother did convert.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1988 – Going All In on the Steelers

The Steelers actually started 1988 on a high note.

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

Joe Greene, Joe Greene Steelers assistant coach

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • The opposite is actually true.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reggie Williams sacks Bubby Brister. Photo Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer

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

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

Thanksgiving Interlude as Steelers Sit @ 2-10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 1988 Steelers “Unleash Hell in December”

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

    ally want to win this on.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But that is another story….

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Back to the Drawing Board: Steelers Cut Mason Cole, Will Seek Center in 2024 NFL Draft

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The NFL’s 2024 off season isn’t quite in full swing but Omar Khan made another decisive move as the Steelers cut starting center Mason Cole. The Steelers signed Mason Cole in 2022 after Kendrick Green’s one year starting stint ended in disaster.

Mitch Trubisky, James Daniel, Mason Cole, Steelers 2022 Offensive Line

Mitch Trubisky at the line of scrimmage. Photo Credit: AP, via Tribune-Review.

Although sources from inside the South Side expressed skepticism to Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell that Cole was up to the task, Cole’s play was solid during his first year in Pittsburgh. 2023 told a different tale. Whether Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky or Mason Rudolph stood under center, one of the first things that fans looked for was an errant or low snap.

Fortunately there were no signature disaster moments such as Maurkice Pouncey opening the 2020 playoff loss to the Browns by hiking the ball so far above Ben Roethlisberger‘s head that neither Ben nor James Conner could recover it before the Browns Karl Joseph did in the end zone.

But Cole’s low snaps were a disruption for an offense line that didn’t find its footing until about Halloween and an offense that literally struggled with the basics until Christmas.

Ironically or perhaps not so ironically, Omar Khan made his move on the day when the NFL officially increased the salary cap 30 million for 2024. Prior to cutting Cole, the Steelers were estimated to be about 8.5 million under the cap.

By releasing Mason Cole, the Steelers will gain about 4.75 million dollars in salary cap space, although they will add to their 1.5 million in dead money.

Who Has the Next Shot?

Although Cole does not have an heir apparent in Pittsburgh, the Steelers do have options at center already on their roster. Reserve guard Nate Herbig can also play center as can starting guard James Daniels. The Steelers also began the off season by signing Ryan McCollom to a reserve/futures contract.

But the 2024 NFL Draft is said to be deep in interior lineman, and the Steelers have already been linked to several top centers.

The franchise’s lineage at the position is second to none, having proceeded seamlessly from Ray Mansfield, to Mike Webster, to Dermontti Dawson, to Jeff Hartings. And while the Sean Mahan–Justin Hartwig interregnum disappointed, the Steelers responded by drafting Maurkiece Pouncey.

So perhaps the 2024 NFL Draft will deliver Pittsburgh its next worthy successor.

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Hidden Risk? Do Art Rooney’s “Time to Get Some Playoff Wins” Comments Set the Bar Too Low?

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Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II gave his annual end-of-the year press conference this and there was one quote that landed as music in the ears of many citizens of Steelers Nation.

James Harrison, Art Rooney II, James Harrison Art Rooney Handshake, James Harrison 2nd retirement

Art Rooney II & James Harrison shake after the Steelers 2017 playoff win over the Chiefs. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

When asked about the Steelers historic playoff drought, Rooney bluntly declared:

Yeah, I think there’s an urgency. I think everybody, myself, Mike, guys that have been on the team for a while, T.J., Cam, everybody, we’ve had enough of this. It’s time to get some [playoff] wins.

Art Rooney II seldom speaks to the press. When he does he says very little. But those words carry a tremendous impact – after all, after the 2004 season ended in another AFC Championship loss it was Rooney who declared it was time for a Super Bowl. And the 2005 Steelers brought the Lombardi back to Pittsburgh.

The response on social media was swift and decisive. Here’s one example:

And this is understandable.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have not won a playoff game since Chris Boswell kicked them out of Kansas City and into the AFC Championship in January 2017. That’s a long time. To put that in context, even after the Super Steelers faded, Chuck Noll never went more than four years without a playoff win during the 1980s.

  • Yet here’s Mike Tomlin looking at 7 years and counting since his last playoff win.

So while it is good that the Steelers brass embraces the elephant in the room, there is a flaw in Rooney’s response. Notice that Rooney simply said, “It’s time to get some [playoff] wins.”

  • That risks setting the bar too low.

In 1992 when Bill Cowher returned to Pittsburgh to coach the Steelers, he offered a change of pace and he did so immediately by declaring that his goal for his rookie season was to win the Super Bowl.

Chuck Noll had started the 1990 and 1991 seasons saying similar things, talking about having “Championship caliber talent” with players like Rod Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Dermontti Dawson and Merril Hoge in mind. But Cowher delivered his remarks with a difference – he really believed it.

And that caused reporters openly snicker and rolled their eyes.

Yet Cowher’s 1992 Steelers took the league by storm and entered the playoffs as the AFC’s first seed. Those Steelers of course didn’t win the Super Bowl, and Bill Cowher faced a long road litter with AFC Championship losses to get to Super Bowl XL.

  • But his goal remained constant.

And setting winning the Super Bowl as the standard for success paid dividends in 2004 when Ben Roethlisberger arrived. Injuries to Tommy Maddox forced Ben Roethlisberger into the line up in week 2 and the franchise never looked back.

  • When the playoffs arrived, the Super Bowl was the goal and the expectation.

That left no room for a “We’re just glad to have won 14 straight games with a rookie quarterback and be in the AFC Championship” mentality. Winning a Super Bowl was the only success metric.

I’m sure if you asked Rooney a follow up question, he’d affirm that winning the Super Bowl is his goal and he was simply acknowledging that wining playoff games is a perquisite to a Lombardi.

  • So there’s no reason to overact here.

But Rooney and everyone else must be mindful that comments like “its time get some [playoff] wins” can carry unintended consequences.

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Don’t Look Now: Steelers Put Pat Freiermuth on IR, Activate Diontae Johnson, Cut Gunner Olszewski

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It was too good to be true. Coming out of the bye week the Steelers had reached full health with a clean injury to prove it. Then T.J. Watt’s name popped on to with a heel injury. (Breath easy, Watt will play vs. the Rams.)

But Pat Freiermuth wasn’t so lucky. On Thursday he reinjured his hamstring injury. Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell described it this way “…when he re-injured it, he cussed loudly and walked off the field and you knew what happened had to be the hamstring.”

Pat Freiermuth, Steelers vs. Browns,

Focused Pat Freiermuth scores the go ahead touchdown. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

The Steelers ruled him out for the Rams game on Friday and on Saturday morning they put him in injured reserve meaning Freriermuth will miss at least the next four games.

  • That’s bad news for the Steelers.

Pat Freiermuth’s been a reliable receiver with a knack for catching with clutch balls. He’s had a slow start to 2023 (but what player not named Jaylen Warren hasn’t for the Steelers offense) but by the end of 2022 he was developing similar rapport with Kenny Pickett to the one he enjoyed with Ben Roethlisberger in 2021.

  • The hope was that he’d continue that starting with the Rams game. His hamstring had other ideas.

Hamstring injures can be tricky. A non-athlete reading, “He pulled his hamstring” sounds mundane. I mean, who hasn’t pulled a muscle and gone about their day as usual? But hamstrings don’t work that way.

In 1995 Yancey Thigpen exploded to break John Stallworth’s single-season reception record with 85 catches (yes, it was different era.) Yet in 1996, a hamstring injury limited him to 6 games and 12 catches. 2 of those catches were for touchdowns, showing just how much the ’96 Steelers missed Thigpen. A few years later, a hamstring injury suffered in the 1999 Pro Bowl limited Dermontti Dawson to 7 games in 1999 and 9 games in 2000, ultimately forcing his retirement.

Hopefully Pat Freiermuth will fare better.

But his re-injury and trip to injured reserve reminds us that hamstrings heal on their own time and on their own terms.

Hot Rod Next Man Up, Gunner, King Gone, Rush Arrives

One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity in the NFL. With Freiermuth on injured reserve rookie Darnell Washington will get an extended look at tight end.

Friermuth’s misfortune is means that Rodney Williams roster spot is safe. Williams is a reserve tight end who transformed and impressive preseason into a practice squad spot. Against the Ravens, in his first game on the active roster he almost recovered Miles Killebrew’s blocked punt. But what came next was more impressive, as Williams willed himself to make a tackle and save a touchdown following Gunner Olszewski’s fumbled punt return.

The punt was ultimately the last straw for the Steelers on Olszewski, whose fumbling problems with the Patriots have followed him to Pittsburgh.

The extra roster spot does clear the way for the Steelers to activate Diontae Johnson, who is believed to have fully recovered from a hamstring he suffered in the opening day loss to the 49ers.

  • The Steelers also made one under the radar move on defense.

While Steelers Nation clamors for Joey Porter Jr. to start over Levi Wallace (or Patrick Peterson or perhaps both!), the Steelers parted ways with Desmond King, the former Houston Texans cornerback whom they signed following cut down day.

King came to Pittsburgh with almost 50 starts and the pickup was hailed as another “Khan Artist Coup.” Yet, he only appeared in 3 games returning 4 kicks in 15 special teams plays and logging a single defensive snap.

  • To replace King the Steelers signed Darius Rush from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.

Rush was a highly rated cornerback prospect going into the 2023 NFL Draft. The Indianapolis Colts took him in the 5th round but cut him at the end of summer. The Chiefs picked him up, put him on the active roster for a few games, but then put him back on the practice squad.

Now he’s with the Steelers and must remain on the active roster for at least 3 games.

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Steelers Trade of Kendrick Green Highlights the Danger and Unavoidability of Drafting for Need

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The Steelers decision to ship Kendrick Green off to the Houston Texans for a 6th round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is a pure admission of failure on the part of the front office.

  • Third round picks are supposed to grow into starters.
Kendrick Green, Kendrick Green Fullback

Steelers guard/center takes reps at fullback. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Kendrick Green’s trajectory with the Steelers went in the opposite direction. He started immediately, got benched late in his first year, stood in street clothes his second year, and was dealt at fire sale prices in his third year.

  • NFL teams don’t give up on third round picks so easily. The Steelers offer no exception.

The Steelers gave the boot to just one year Bruce Davis after drafting him third in the 2008 NFL Draft. Two Septembers, they also cut rookie Kraig Urbik, but that move was a miscalculation on their part, forced by the need to carry Charlie Batch on the 2010 roster.

As the stories of Curtis Brown, Sean Spence and Senquez Golson reveal, the Steelers normally bend over backwards to give a third round second, third and fourth chances to make the team.

And in a sense, the Steelers did that with Green. They moved him to guard in 2022, sort of giving him a Redshirt year as he was inactive for all 17 games. In 2023 they gave him work at both center and guard and even repped him at fullback.

Mike Tomlin singled him out after the Bills game, making no bones about the fact that his errant snaps to Mason Rudolph were unacceptable. Green saw action at both center and guard in the win over the Falcons, and in this observer’s opinion he did pretty well.

  • Pat Meyer, Matt Canada and Mike Tomlin reached a different conclusion.

Thus ends the Kendrick Green experiment, after over a little over two years and 15 games. For a franchise that boasts a lineage at center that begins in the ‘60s with Ray Mansfield, dominates the 70’s with Mike Webster, continues into throughout the 1990’s with Dermontti Dawson and extends into the 21st century with Jeff Hartings and Maurkice Pouncey, Kendrick Green represents a tremendous disappointment.

But if Kendrick Green’s footnote in the Definitive History of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be short, his story leaves a lasting lesson:

  • Drafting for need is dangerous. But sometimes its unavoidable.

Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement hit the Steelers at the worst possible time. Neither the coaches nor the front office were expecting it, particularly since Ben Roethlisberger returned for one more go.

Not only did the Steelers need to find a center, COVID-19 had plunged Pittsburgh into salary cap hell, cutting off free agency as a means to signing a new center. That left the draft. The Steelers tried to stick to their board picking Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth in the 1st and 2nd rounds (cue the arguments that the Steelers should have taken Creed Humphrey before Najee Harris) but their hand was essentially forced by the third round, when they took Green.

You can argue that they were in the same position in the 4th round, and were essentially forced to pick Dan Moore. More, like Green struggled on, but he starts his third year by keeping 2023’s first round pick Broderick Jones on the bench.

So sometimes you can get away with drafting for need. But as The Wire’s Omar Little reminded us, “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Yep, the Steelers missed on Kendrick Green.

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Watch Tower: Labriola Mans Up, Trubisky Non-Story & Steelers Draft History Gem

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The Watch Tower has been dim for quite a while, but its lights shine again today with a focus on a major Steelers media figure manning up, making a story out of a non-story and draft war room nuggets.

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.)

Bob Labriola Mans Up

Dick Haley’s death marked the passing of yet another of the architects of the Steelers Dynasty of the 1970’s.

As Haley’s role in building four Super Bowl Championships doesn’t get the attention that Dan Rooney, Chuck Noll, Art Rooney Jr. and Bill Nunn Jr.’s roles do, the Watch Tower made an extra effort to soak up as much as possible from his eulogies.

So the Watch Tower reached out to Ron Lippock who seemed to have published the quote before, and the Steelers Takeaways author confirmed that the quote indeed had come from his 2012 interview with Dick Haley.

Lippock contacted Labriola, and to his credit the editor of Steelers.com immediately manned up:

Rampant content stealing is a depressing downside of the digital age. Often, if not most of the time, it it’s not a question of who has the idea, the insight or who is breaking news, but who has the ability to push it to their followers. Rarely do those who engage in that behavior recognize it let alone apologize for it.

Bob Labriola, who assuredly made an honest mistake, acknowelged it immediately and made things right. In doing so, he set an example for all of us. Good for you Bob.

Mitch Tribusky Staying with Steelers – The Non-Story of the Century

Art Rooney II does his annual State of the Steelers sit down with the press after the season is over, and he rarely, if ever, speaks after that.

  • But the flip side is that the Steelers President isn’t coy.

Yes, he is guarded with his words. But if he says the Steelers are leaning in certain way, expect his lieutenants to follow in that direction. After the 2009 season he said the Steelers need to run better. And guess what? The Steelers ran better in 2010. In January 2017 he said the Steelers would probably draft a quarterback, and sure enough they picked Joshua Dobbs.

So when Art Rooney II opened the 2023 off season by confirming that the Steelers expected Mitch Trubisky back,  that should have ended any and all questions about Trubisky’s future in Pittsburgh.

Except the opposite happened.

Omar Khan, Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan

Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan, Photo Credit: Nola.com

When Omar Khan spoke to reporters at the NFL Combine a month later, reporters asked him if Tribuisky would be back, Khan confirmed he would, and the exchange spawned dozens (if not hundreds) of stories from both bloggers and the professional press alike.

  • But you’d figure that the “story” would have ended with Khan’s comments.

Except it didn’t.

One month later reporters asked Mike Tomlin about Tribuisky at the NFL Owners Meeting, where Tomlin confirmed (again) that the Steelers were keeping Tribuisky. And again the exchange spawned dozens (if not hundreds) of stories from both the professional press and bloggers alike.

In the past the Watch Tower has wondered, “If a reporter breaks news and it doesn’t go viral is it still a scoop?” with Jim Wexell getting Ben Roethlisberger on the record confirming his plans to return before the Jaguars playoff game, only to have Roethlisberger say the same thing after the loss and have it treated as “new news.”

  • Here, the opposite has happened.

Each of the Steelers top three officials all confirmed that Mitch Tribuisky was in the team’s long term plans, yet somehow both bloggers and writers kept spinning yarns about scenarios that would see him leave Pittsburgh right up until Trubisky signed signed a contract extension.

Who knows? Maybe next off season reporters can try coaxing Khan, Tomlin or Rooney into saying, “Yes we’ll wear dark jerseys at home and white ones on the road next year” to see if that generates page views.

Donahoe’s Reveal on Steelers Draft Strategy in the ‘90’s

Tom Donahoe joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1986 as a BLESTO scout and quickly rose to Director of Pro Player Personnel and Development in 1989 before ascending to  Director of Football Operations in 1992, upon Chuck Noll’s retirement.

Dan Rooney, Dan Rooney decisions, Tom Donahoe, Bill Cowher, Tom Modark, Steelers 1992 Draft

Tom Donahoe, Tom Modark, Dan Rooney and Bill Cowher in the Steelers 1992 draft room. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

With Bill Cowher, Donahoe oversaw the Steeler return to contender status during the 1990’s, but ultimately clashes with The Chin came to a head in 1999, and Dan Rooney sided with his head coach.

Still, Donahoe’s service to the Steelers from ’86 to until early 2000 make him one of the organization’s most informed insiders from that period. Yet, he’s seldom spoken about the organization since leaving.

Jim Wexell has changed that in a big way to the tune of a 4,301 word interview as part of research for his book On the Clock, the History of the Steelers Draft. Wexell shared the full interview with Steel City Insider subscribers last spring.

The interview is a pure gold for Steelers history buffs, as Donahoe shares insights into how stars from the ‘90s  like Greg Lloyd, Rod Woodson, Dermontii Dawson, Levon Kirkland, Joel Steed, Darren Perry, and Chad Brown made their way to Pittsburgh.

Donahoe also offers draft room back stories about players such as Alan Faneca, Hines Ward, Deshea Townsend and Aaron Smith who’d go on to help Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin win Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII.

Any one of Donahoe’s 36 answers would  suffice to earn Wexell Watch Tower kudos, but here’s an exceptional exchange:

Q: Did it hurt you guys economically not having the new stadium in free agency?
TD: It was a challenge. But we always tried to prepare for the guys that we thought were probably not going to be here to replace them. Maybe not to the same degree but we would at least have a player waiting in the wings where we wouldn’t have to just go out and buy a free agent. Although we did that the one year with Kevin Greene. He was a great pickup for us at that time. But Chad Brown was a tough loss.

Tom Donahoe’s answer might not qualify as “news” or a “revelation” for fans who suffered through those annual free agent exoduses during the 1990’s. But, to the Watch Tower’s knowledge, this is the first time that someone from the organization actually confirmed that anticipated free agent losses shaped the Steelers draft strategy in the 90’s.

And for that Jim Wexell earns a double dose of Watch Tower Kudos.

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Steelers 2023 Draft Needs @ Center & Guard – Is Pittsburgh Set?

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Let’s face it. Offensive line isn’t “Sexy.” An offense might need to field five lineman, but the other six men are said to play “The skill positions.” Even then, interior offensive lineman get short shrift.

Quibble you do?

Take a look at how NFL teams prioritize Center and Guard in the draft and in how they spend their salary cap. Heck, offensive tackles get Hollywood movies made about them. Try making On the Blind Side about a guard.

True as that may be, the Pittsburgh Steelers have more interior offensive lineman in the Hall of Fame, see Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Alan Faneca, than they do wide receivers (Lynn Swann and John Stallworth).

During the last two springs both Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan have invested heavily in interior offensive line positions. Does that mean the Steelers can ignore them in the draft? Let’s take a look.

Mitch Trubisky, James Daniel, Mason Cole, Steelers 2022 Offensive Line

Mitch Trubisky at the line of scrimmage. Photo Credit: AP, via Tribune-Review.

Steelers Depth Cart at Center and Guard: The Starters

The leader of the Steelers offensive line is unquestionably James Daniels. Kevin Colbert signed him last spring to a 3 year 26 million dollar contract, after Daniels had finished four years as a starter in Chicago.

James Daniels not only leads the team in terms of talent and salary, but also in terms of attitude. When the Buffalo Bills hit Kenny Pickett late, Daniels wasted no time in defending his quarterback – just what you need to see from your top offensive lineman.

Last year Colbert also signed Mason Cole to play center, after Cole had played for 3 years in Arizona and 1 Minnesota. Cole helped shore up a position that had been a weakness was solid all season.
Here’s where it gets interesting.

Officially speaking, Kevin Dotson is the Steelers other starting guard. Kevin Dotson was the Steelers 4th round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and while he missed games in both 2019 and 2020, the Steelers line was certainly stronger with him playing. Dotson fortunately played all 17 games in 2022.

But that didn’t stop Omar Khan and Andy Wedil from going out and signing Isaac Seumalo, who brings 7 years of NFL experience with the Philadelphia Eagles totaling 81 games and 60 starts, including 17 last season. The money the Steelers are paying Seumalo makes it clear that they’re not bringing him to Pittsburgh to be a backup.

Steelers Guard and Center Depth Chart: The Backups

When talking about depth at guard and center it would remise not to point out that both James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo have some experience at center. As does Nate Herbig, whom the Steelers signed as a free agent from the New York Jets (although he is another ex-Philadelphia Eagle.)

Steelers Draft, Steelers Draft Needs scale

The Steelers also have Kendrick Green, their 2022 3rd round pick who was their starting center for most of 2022. Green also has position flexibility at guard, and many feel he’s more naturally suited there.

The Steelers 2023 Draft Needs @ Center and Guard

“You can never have enough good offensive lineman” the old adage goes. And that’s a sound philosophy. But the Steelers have three if not four starter-capable guards, a former 3rd round pick, and an established starter at Center.

And oh, by the way, 3 of those guards have experience playing center. And the Steelers only have 7 picks this year. Therefore, their need at both center and guard going into the 2023 draft should be considered as Negligible.

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Former Steelers Personnel Director Dick Haley, 1937-2023, Embodied the “Steelers Way”

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Former Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Player Personnel Dick Haley passed away at the age of 85 on Friday March 10, 2023. Haley, along with Art Rooney Jr. and Bill Nunn Jr. architected the most dominant dynasty that the NFL has ever seen.

In many ways Dick Haley’s story is the antidote to the “me” centeredness that plagues modern narratives of organizational success.

Dick Haley, Chuck Noll, Steeler Training Camp 1991

Dick Haley and Chuck Noll at St. Vincents in 1991. Photo Credit: George Gojkovich, Getty Images via FOX News.

To hone in on what I’m talking, just think of how the smart advice to job hunters today is to be ready to show the value that you added to company and to always use the word “I” aned never “we” during interviews. Scaling up a bit, think of how the story of every successful tech startup gets tethered to the biography of entrepreneur who gets credit for it all. If you doubt this then ask if the names “Jobs,” “Musk,” “Gates” or “Brandsen” ring a bell.

For the last 50 years the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the most successful organizations in professional sports, and it certainly is tempting to apply this same “who is the singular genius behind it all” mentality to them.

  • Tempting, but ultimately unsuccessful.

I once asked Ed Bouchette during a Post-Gazette on-line chat, “Who was most responsible for the scouting success of the 70’s? Art Rooney Jr., Bill Nunn or Dick Haley.” Bouchette’s response was unequivocal: Each one of them always insisted that it was a team effort.

How refreshing.

Refreshing, if not surprising, because this emphasis of team over the individual is the very essence of the Steelers Way.

Dick Haley’s Role in Architecting the Steelers Dynasty

Art Rooney Jr. professionalized the Steelers scouting organization. Bill Nunn used his connections with the HSB network to give the Steelers “Ace in the Hole” on draft day. But Dick Haley’s contributions were equally critical.

Sure, Rooney spotted Jack Lambert pulling cinders out of his skin while practicing on Kent State parking lot, just as Nunn got near-exclusive access to John Stallworth’s tapes from Alabama A&M. But Dick Haley validated the evaluations of both players.

John Stallworth, Super Bowl XIII, Steelers vs Cowboys, Lynn Swann, Benny Barnes, Charlie Waters

Super Bowl XIII: John Stallworth is headed to the end zone. Benny Barnes and Charlie Waters can only look on. Photo Credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images via FanSided

Art Rooney introduced the use of computers, making the Steelers one of the first NFL teams to bring IT into the scouting department. But Dick Haley balanced the quantitative with the qualitative by trusting his eyes.

As he explained to Pittsburgh Sports‘ Ron Lippock in 2012, “Yeah…I say it often I know – ‘Don’t tell me how fast or big a player is, just tell me how good he is.’ Just big and fast won’t work. Big, fast and good….we’ll take that player!”

He further detailed to Lippock, “Lambert was a good example. He was only 202 pounds in training camp. He was 6’5″. Ham was 209 pounds. Webster was only 250 pounds – tell Webster he wasn’t big enough.”

The results of this team driven approach to scouting speak for themselves:

  • 4 Super Bowls in 6 years
  • 73 Pro Bowl selections during the 70’s
  • 2 Super Bowl victories over a 2-time Super Bowl Champion, the team to accomplish that
  • The 1974 Draft yielding 4 Hall of Famers plus 1 undrafted rookie free agent Hall of Famer
  • 10 Hall of Famers

Dick Haley’s role in architecting that dynasty should be enough to earn him a spot in Canton alongside Bill Nunn (Art Rooney Jr. belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame too.) But Haley’s contribution to the Steelers legacy extends beyond the 70’s. And since its seldom discussed elsewhere we’ll do it here.

Steelers of the 80’s: Friction Between Coaching and Scouting = Stagnation

Business analysts love to talk about “process.” And Pittsburgh’s process for building the dynasty of the 70’s was simple: Art Rooney Jr., Bill Nunn, Dick Haley, Tim Rooney and other Steelers scouts would evaluate prospects and build the draft board, and Chuck Noll would draft the players.

  • Peek back at the bullet points above to see how well it worked.

But then in 1976 the NFL moved the draft from just after the Super Bowl to March. In theory the extra time should have helped an organization like the Steelers.

  • Instead, the exact opposite occurred.

The increased time allowed Chuck Noll to start micromanaging the process. He started challenging draft board rankings. He got his assistant coaches more involved in scouting. As Art Rooney Jr, declared in his book Ruanaidh, some of them weren’t up to it.

The organization also began to outthink itself. They’d pass on guys whom they’d rated highly thinking, “How’s he gonna beat out Stallworth or Lynn Swann?” or “Is this kid really gonna push Greenwood or Mean Joe for playing time?”

David Little, Mel Blount, Marcus Allen, 1983 AFC Divisional Playoffs

David Little helps Mel Blount bring down Marcus Allen

At its best, that led to the Steelers trying to replace guys like Lambert and Ham with the likes of David Little and Bryan Hinkle. At it its worst it produced draft picks like Darryl Sims.

  • That created tension and communication dysfunction between Art Rooney Jr. and Chuck Noll.

By the 1986 season tension got so bad that Dan Rooney had to make a decision, and he fired his brother, leaving Dick Haley as head of scouting.

Haley’s Role in Building the “Blitzburgh” Teams of the ‘90s

The quick and easy take away from Dan Rooney’s decision to fire his brother is to look at what happened next and say, “Well, that I didn’t work.” After all, Chuck Noll only won one more playoff game (but man, it was a heck of a win) followed by deeply disappointing campaigns in 1990 and 1991.

  • However, communication did improve between scouting and coaching, for a while at least.

In both 1987 and 1988 Chuck Noll drafted Hall of Famers in the form of Rod Woodson and Dermontti Dawson. And while the Steelers did need a lot of luck to land Woodson, those weren’t isolated examples.

Greg Lloyd, Greg Lloyd Steelers Career

Greg Lloyd during the Steelers 1995 playoff win over Browns. Photo Credit: Getty Images, via Zimbo.com

The Steelers 1987 draft also delivered Thomas Everett, Hardy Nickerson, Greg Lloyd and Merril Hoge. 1988 brought John Jackson to Pittsburgh. The Steelers 1989 draft featured Carnell Lake, Jerrol Williams, D.J. Johnson, Jerry Olsavsky and Carlton Haselrig.

And it is true that by 1990 some of the same communication breakdowns between scouting and coaching resumed, but even those drafts delivered players like  Justin Strzelczyk, Neil O’Donnell and Ernie Mills who helped the 1995 Steelers reach Super Bowl XXX.

Dick Haley left the Steelers after Dan Rooney promoted Tom Donahoe to Director of Football Operations when Chuck Noll retired. Haley worked as the New York Jets Director of Player Personnel from 1992 to 2000, and then served as their General Manager during 2000 and 2001.

But even if Dick Haley left Pittsburgh in 1992, his finger prints are just as much a part of the success first part of the Cowher Era as they are of the first Super Bowl Era of 1970s.

No, when they write the story of Super Bowl XXX, they don’t list a tally of players from the Dick Haley era just as they don’t do a tally of Tom Donahoe players on the Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII squads. Nor should they.

  • Because each front office executive’s success = the Steelers success.

Indeed, the late Dick Haley was a walking embodiment of “The Steelers Way.” May he rest in peace.

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