Tag: Mike Tomlin

Steelers President Art Rooney II clearly disappointed in 2024 schedule

Art Rooney II didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the Steelers’ chances with this year’s schedule.

Even before the schedule was laid out, the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the toughest slates of games in the entire NFL. Then the official schedules came out and the way the league broke down the games, it made the challenge even harder.

This was a sentiment team President Art Rooney II shared rather subtly when he spoke to Steelers reporter Missi Matthews shortly after the schedule announcement.

“Not exactly how I would have drawn it up, but we’ve got to do the best we can,” Rooney said.

The Steelers face an incredible amount of hurdles on this schedule, including having all six AFC North matchups in the final eight games. A brutal three-game stretch in 10 days in December follows three prime-time games in four weeks in October.

Mike Tomlin is headed into his 18th season as the Steelers head coach and he’s never had a losing season. There’s no denying this schedule puts that streak in serious jeopardy.

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Steelers President Art Rooney II defends HC Mike Tomlin’s preparedness

The Steelers have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this season.

Shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers released their full regular-season schedule for the 2024 NFL season, team President Art Rooney II spoke to team reporter Missi Matthews and they discussed what looks to be an incredibly challenging slate of games for Pittsburgh.

Rooney sounded disappointed at how the league arranged games but defended head coach Mike Tomlin and his ability to get his team ready to play regardless of the circumstances.

“Mike (Tomlin) does a good job of getting guys ready,” Rooney said. “There are no excuses in terms of what day of the week you’re playing. He doesn’t allow for that, or the time of the day.”

This all sounds great but history says otherwise. Despite Tomlin’s best of intentions, this team hasn’t always come out and looked prepared for their opponents. Starting games flat and listless isn’t an uncommon practice in recent seasons, which then forces the team to scramble and rally late in games. With the schedule lined up this season, the margin for error is so thin it just won’t work.

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Who will lead the Steelers in rushing in 2024?

The Steelers have two starters at running back this season.

One thing we fully expect to see from the Pittsburgh Steelers offense is a prominent focus on a power run game. The team has completely rebuilt the offensive line with two huge picks in the 2024 NFL draft and history says new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith can scheme up a dominant run game.

The Steelers also have a tandem of starter-quality running backs in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Either one of these backs is capable of putting up huge numbers in this system and it will be up to the coaches to sort out distribution of labor.

For Harris, he’s in an interesting position that could really complicate things. The Steelers declined Harris’ fifth-year option meaning he will play 2024 without a contract for 2025 and the potential of free agency.

At the same time, Jaylen Warren is willing and able to carry the rushing offense and could be the future of the position in Pittsburgh. We expect to see the Steelers coaches be less committed to a single workhorse back and go more by whoever has the hot hand.

Cash your vote and tell us which back you think will lead the team in rushing in 2024.

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Steelers offense coming into the season with something to prove

The Steelers have confidence in their new quarterbacks as well as their new offensive coordinator.

Last season felt like Groundhog Day for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Every week the team would come out, start slow, then rally late and hope to pull off the win. In almost every case, this scenario, both bad and good, was created by the quarterback position.

But this season will be different, right? Right? After all the Steelers have three new quarterbacks and it is full-on out with the old and in with the new. It sounds like a scary proposition to undertake but the Steelers sound confident in what they have built in the quarterback room and new

It’s going really well. All three guys, you know, to be really transparent, are somewhat scalded, you know? They got something to prove professionally, um, but we as a collective feel the same way. We have something to prove, and I just think that is a good frame of mind to be in as individuals and as a collective as we prepare ourselves for the 2024 season. You know, it’s not fun to relocate or get fired or things of that nature, but as competitors, man, it always motivates us in the right way, and I’m excited about working with the men that you mentioned.

Last season the Steelers were No. 28 in the league in scoring and No. 25 in the NFL in yards.
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Is Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the hot seat in 2024?

The Steelers continue to build a contending roster and now it is up to HC Mike Tomlin to get the best of them.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has gone 17 seasons as the team’s head coach without a losing season. That’s a pretty remarkable stat. But not all of the stats during Tomlin’s tenure have been so good. An 8-10 playoff record and a playoff win drought going back to 2016 does nothing to quiet the critics.

This offseason, the Steelers front office has taken the proverbial big swing. The team completely gutted the quarterback depth chart and brought in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields both on one-year contracts. It feels like this roster is being built for a big run in 2024.

This is in addition to multiple other roster upgrades as well as a brand new offensive coordinator. All of this makes us wonder if Tomlin is feeling some pressure to be more than just a competitive team in the regular season and if his job be in jeopardy if the team doesn’t take that next step this season with all the new additions.

Cast your vote and let us know if you think Tomlin is on the hot seat in 2024.

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Jaylen Warren highlights ‘biggest difference’ between Arthur Smith, Matt Canada

Jaylen Warren takes a subtle shot at his old offensive coordinator.

For what felt like months (because it was), all of the Pittsburgh Steelers fandom was screaming from the mountaintops for head coach Mike Tomlin to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. It got to a point where it seemed that Tomlin was the only person in all of football who didn’t see the harm Canada was doing to the offense.

But mercifully, Tomlin finally found his way to relieve Canada of his duties during the season and after an OC by committee approach in the second half of 2023, this offense belongs to Arthur Smith now. Smith struggled as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons but his experience as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans before that and be excited about what he brings to this offense.

One guy who seems to be excited about the change is running back Jaylen Warren. He was on the Not Just Football podcast with Cam Heyward and took a shot at Canada when he talked about how Smith runs his meetings.

“His biggest difference is he’s very interactive in the meetings,” “You want to pay attention because he’s gonna call you out if you’re not paying attention. That’s happened a couple times. I think his approach to being the OC is really good.”

Every Sunday it seems like Canada was just mailing in the gameplan so it makes sense he was mailing it in during meetings too.

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Pittsburgh Steelers decline RB Najee Harris fifth-year option

Former Alabama running back Najee Harris entering what will likely be his final year with the Steelers

After being drafted No. 24 overall in the 2021 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, it appears as if former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris’s time in Pittsburgh is coming to a close. The franchise decided to decline the former Pro Bowler’s fifth-year option on his rookie deal which will make Harris a free agent next summer while saving the team nearly $7 million.

As quarterbacks and the passing game continues to dominate the NFL, the value of running backs has dropped quite significantly. With Harris being a former first-round pick, he does have a bit of a price tag that and the Steelers feel as if they will be able to find similar production for a cheaper price. The Steelers also moved off former first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett after just two years as Mike Tomlin and the franchise begins to turn a new page.

Harris has taken some criticism during his time in Pittsburgh, but the fact of the matter is the offensive line play has been at the bottom of the league for the entirety of his tenure. Despite that, he has posted over 4,000 career all-purpose yards, 28 touchdowns and just six fumbles in three years.

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WATCH: Steelers share Mike Tomlin’s draft call with WR Roman Wilson

One of the coolest parts of the post-draft process is Steelers HC Mike Tomlin’s calls with his rookies.

One of the coolest parts of the post-draft process is Mike Tomlin‘s calls with his new rookies. Tomlin is known for connecting on a special level with his players and these calls are just the beginning.

The Pittsburgh Steelers shared his call with wide receiver Roman Wilson as “the call that starts it all.”

“Isn’t it cool, man, the conversations we were having in Mobile and all that stuff, getting to know each other,” Tomlin said. “That’s just football life, though; that’s just how we work. You did a hell of a job through the draft process as we got really comfortable with you. We need big-time contributions, so you better be ready to come in here and work.”

“Welcome to the ‘burgh, man. I look forward to getting after your ass.”

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the offensive line: ‘We just wanna roll people’

The Steelers loaded up on offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line has been a work in progress for the last few seasons. Despite the front office’s best efforts, the offensive line has been the weak link in the offense.

Last season the Steelers took a huge step to improving the offensive line by trading up to select offensive tackle Broderick Jones. In 2024 they upped things even more by selecting three more offensive linemen including two guys, Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier, who should start as rookies.

After the draft, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about the decision to load up on nasty, physical offensive linemen in the draft.

“We just wanna roll people, man, to be honest with you guys,” Tomlin said. “We have some backs that we like. We have a good offensive line. We took Broderick Jones a year ago. This draft pool or class we thought was really loaded with some top-end offensive line talent and we just wanted to draw from that well.”

The new Steelers offense under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is shaping up to be a physical, punishing run game with this new offensive line and tandem of powerful backs.

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Steelers eyeing potential return of CB Cameron Sutton

The Steelers cornerback problems might be solved.

According to Pittsburgh Steelers beat writer Gerry Dulac, the Pittsburgh Steelers brass including head coach Mike Tomlin and General Manager Omar Khan met with former Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton last week.

We theorized a return for Sutton after his sudden release from the Detroit Lions. Sutton was facing some criminal allegations which were later reduced from domestic violence charges down to just a misdemeanor battery. Sutton was released by the Lions on March 21.

Sutton spent his first six seasons with the Steelers after Pittsburgh drafted Sutton in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. Sutton left the Steelers in 2023 for a big free-agent contract in Detroit.

If the Steelers meet with Sutton and are satisfied with his off-field situation and can bring Sutton back, we are here for it. Sutton was the team’s best cornerback his last two seasons in Pittsburgh and worked his way to that big free-agent deal. He could be looking to come back to the team that turned him into the pro he is and if the contract is manageable, all he can do is help this team.

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