Steelers Now
Three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman didn’t hold back when talking about Mike Tomlin and the Steelers’ unwillingness to change.
Criticism of head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers continues to pour in following the team’s sixth straight playoff loss. This time it’s three-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver Julian Edelman joining the conversation.
On Tuesday, the former New England Patriots wide receiver criticized Tomlin and the Steelers for never changing or adapting, despite their lack of playoff success over the past eight years.
“You knew exactly what they were doing,” Edelman said when speaking about his days of playing against the Steelers defense. “And they still do what they did. They still do the same God d*** s*** [as] when I was playing Tomlin’s defense. I’m like, ‘We still have linebackers covering the three slot?’ Every time we play Steelers, I have at least nine catches. You would think that they would change it but no, they do what they do.”
The Patriots were the team that began the Steelers’ six-game playoff slide, defeating them 36-17 in the 2016 season’s AFC Championship game. Edelman caught eight passes for 118 yards in the win.
However, neither that playoff loss or any of the five since have been enough to make the Steelers want to make any significant changes.
President Art Rooney II said both offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will return for the 2025 season.
“The coaching staff, I think most of it will stay in place,” Rooney said. “Our coordinators, I think, will stay in place. … For the most part, I think we have the right people and the right jobs to do it.”
That is a bit of a head-scratching decision since the defense took a step back in 2024, falling from sixth to eighth in scoring despite the offseason additions of linebacker Patrick Queen, cornerback Donte Jackson, safety DeShon Elliott, cornerback Cam Sutton and linebacker Payton Wilson.
As a result, more people like Edelman will continue speaking their minds about the Steelers’ unwillingness to make change and still expecting a different outcome.
