Steelers Now
It’s that time of the month, Pittsburgh Steelers fans: the monthly mailbag is here. Much has happened since the last iteration of this article took place, with them taking home the AFC North crown, Mike Tomlin stepping down as head coach, and coaching search on the docket.
Combine that with the 2026 NFL Draft taking place on the North Shore in just a matter of months and it feels like we’re all in for quite an eventful offseason. Today, we’ll briefly touch on the past before looking ahead to the future.
As always, I sincerly appreciate all of the great questions that you submitted through various platforms. Without further ado, here we go!
Q: Perhaps this is too loaded of a question, but where do you think the Mike Tomlin era went wrong?
A: When things run their course like this over a large sample size of time, it’s more complicated than just one singular issue. During their nine-year drought in the postseason, they’ve felt the ripple effect of so many lackluster draft classes from 2018-22. Despite that, Tomlin’s innate ability to raise the floor of the group was evident, but it came at the expense of having a long-term vision of how to get back to the promised land, too often opting for older veterans in key positions well past their prime.
The assembled coaching staffs simply didn’t give them much of a schematic advantage over the past decade, and that’s a reflection of how they struggled to keep up with the times. Obviously, not being able to figure out the quarterback position is low-hanging fruit that doesn’t need any explanation. Despite all of that, they’ve been competitive, but the standard in Pittsburgh should be competing for Super Bowls.
Q: What do the Steelers truly need in a head coach, a guy more on the X’s and O’s side or more of a team leader? Would it be better to hire an offensive or defensive coordinator?
A: The ability to lead is a non-negotiable element of the job, regardless of your football background, and we’ve seen smart football minds fail as head coaches because they lack the soft skills necessary for this role. Assuming everything is equal, going the offensive coordinator route seems to be best practice. Over the last decade, success on that side of the ball has had a higher correlation towards winning; it’s more replicable year over year, and you don’t have to worry about another team poaching your play caller.
On the flip side, Mike Macdonald’s Seattle Seahawks are a shining example of what can happen when a defensive mastermind hires the right guy to run to steer the ship on offense. Unfortunately, it’s just impossible to keep those guys in the building long-term with how the NFL turns over coaches these days. It also depends on who is available, which is among the reasons that Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula is atop my choices for Pittsburgh.
***Q: Where would you rank the Steelers’ job...
