Behind the Steel Curtain
If there’s one trait NFL teams value most from their coaches, it’s quarterback development. If you can find someone who can put your most important player in a position to succeed, chances are you’ll have a good shot at developing them into a true franchise passer.
The Steelers generally aren’t considered in that category of teams primed to develop a young quarterback, but there’s a growing body of evidence that might suggest otherwise.
This is a thought that started to creep into my mind following what has been a disastrous start to the season for former Pittsburgh quarterbacks. Justin Fields, who has failed to throw for over 100 yards the last two weeks combined, was finally benched by the Jets. Russell Wilson has officially been replaced by Jaxson Dart on the Giants after being thoroughly outplayed by the rookie.
And Kenny Pickett, although he played just five snaps on Sunday, had one of the week’s uglier plays and is on his fourth team in three years.
That’s to say, all three passers had far more success in Pittsburgh. And in Fields and Wilson’s cases, each did enough during their time as a Steeler to convince a portion of the fanbase that they should’ve returned to the black and gold in 2025.
But instead, Pittsburgh chose to sign Aaron Rodgers ahead of this season. And in line with Fields and Wilson, he’s currently enjoying the most success he’s had in recent seasons.
On Monday, Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders pointed to Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as a potential reason, citing his success with Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee as another piece of evidence for the case.
The Steelers haven’t exactly had a high-level quarterback prospect to work with in a while. You can count Pickett, but his struggles with multiple other teams seem to point at his failed Steelers career being the result of a misinformed pick by the front office as much as poor development from the coaching staff. And of course, at the time the Steelers had Matt Canada at offensive coordinator, not Smith.
Since Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers have done a lot with a little at the quarterback position. Head coach Mike Tomlin deserves some credit as well as he’s been the common denominator over those seasons, leading teams that have snuck into the playoffs after starting names such as Duck Hodges, Mason Rudolph, and Mitch Trubisky at quarterback along with the passers already mentioned.
Of course, Pittsburgh hasn’t developed a star quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger, and the team hasn’t managed to add to the league’s “reclamation project” trend at the position either. But it still stands that passers tend to have more success in Pittsburgh than at their other NFL stops.
While I wouldn’t put the Steelers in the same category as the Kevin O’Connell-coached Vikings anytime soon when it comes to the best landing spots for passers in the NFL, I would argue that Pittsburgh is a bit more...
