Three things Mike Tomlin and the Steelers must fix this offseason
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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH — To Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t stuck.
To be stuck, he said Tuesday, would insinuate the organization is helpless, and he doesn’t feel that.
So does that mean he’s optimistic about the direction of the team after a fifth consecutive one-and-done postseason foray?
Not quite.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to be overly optimistic or sell optimism to you, either,” Tomlin said. “I’m just acknowledging what transpired and what has to happen and what is beginning to happen. And acknowledging the complexity and the amount of work that’s ahead of us.
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“Certainly feel capable, but definitely don’t feel in the mood for optimism or the selling of optimism. I don’t know that that’s appropriate.”
Where the Steelers are, in the head coach’s own words, is caught between helplessness and optimism.
The Steelers have won 80 regular-season games in the past eight seasons. They haven’t won a playoff game in that same stretch, going 0-5. Tomlin said Tuesday his players frequently joke with him about one of his favorite cliches: “Two is a pattern.” What about five?
The Steelers’ current system is designed to help them maintain stability. Under Tomlin, they’ve maintained a pristine 18-season stretch of non-losing seasons. Yet, those regular-season wins haven’t brought them closer to the upper echelon of the AFC — teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. Because of those non-losing seasons, the Steelers consistently draft in the second half of the first round. This year, they have the No. 21 pick. And though third-year general manager Omar Khan has shown a willingness to be more aggressive on the trade market, an organization married to precedent has rarely shown a willingness to move the kind of capital needed to acquire a top-10, franchise-altering pick.
Tomlin vowed Tuesday there would be change, the kind inevitable after a 10-3 start collapsed into a 10-8 season and another first-round playoff exit.
“Although we’ve had similar results, rest assured that we’re not doing the same things and hoping for a different result,” he said. “We have adapted. We have altered our approach and we will continue because we’re not getting what we seek — and that’s the confetti game, is to be world champs.
“Our goals are really clear. It’s also really clear that we’re falling short of it, and we’re falling short of it in a consistent way. We’re still going to be open to adapting.”
In part because he signed a three-year extension before the 2024 season and told teams who might consider inquiring about his availability in a trade to “save your time,” Tomlin isn’t going anywhere. Still, there are other changes he and the organization can make to get the Steelers dislodged from a cycle of above-average — but not good enough — NFL seasons. Here are three to consider.
Trade an impact player — or two
Tomlin is off the trade market, but the Steelers have a handful of other valuable options that could be turned into premium draft picks. Linebacker
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From the time the Steelers acquired Fields and Russell Wilson last offseason, Wilson was the organization’s understood QB1. Though he jump-started the passing game once he finally returned from his calf injury, Wilson’s play dropped off down the stretch.
“Obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, and I think there’s a lot more to do,” he told reporters Monday.
Wilson wants to be back in 2025, but the Steelers should be wary about committing resources toward a 36-year-old quarterback who was inconsistent and made questionable decisions in the most critical moments.
Though Fields’ time as the starter was brief, he showed promising signs as a mobile, dual-threat quarterback. Giving him a full offseason in “pole position,” to borrow Tomlin’s offseason phrase that described Wilson’s previous standing, could further develop him and give the offense a chance to mold around his skills.
“The way that he managed his professional circumstance was really impressive,” Tomlin said of Fields’ potential to be the Steelers’ 2025 starter. “I thought he brought an urgency to his day-to-day work regardless of his role. I thought he got continually better within our system of ball throughout the process. I thought the way he conducted himself makes that a legitimate thought or idea at this juncture.”
The Steelers should also explore the free agent and trade market — hello Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers — and they should also exercise caution and patience in the 2025 NFL draft. The Steelers reached for Kenny Pickett by taking him No. 20 in the 2022 NFL draft — one pick earlier than their slot this season. Not only did he not pan out, but it created an awkward situation with free agent acquisition — and immediate lame duck starter — Mitchell Trubisky. This quarterback class is arguably worse. The Steelers won’t land Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders unless they make a move to trade up into the top five.
