There are a myriad of reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 season came to a merciful end following Saturday’s 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC wild-card round, Pittsburgh’s sixth consecutive playoff loss and fifth straight loss to end the season. But one reason sticks out from the rest, one that shouldn’t make Steelers fans feel very good about the short-term future of the franchise.
Mike Tomlin appeared to lose this team, at least enough of it, during the end of what was once a promising year. That’s a damming thing to say about any coach, let alone one as highly regarded as Tomlin, whose run in Pittsburgh will likely end up with him enshrined one day in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
If you doubt that Tomlin lost at least a portion of this team, take a listen to what Steelers starting linebacker Patrick Queen said after Saturday night’s loss when asked about Pittsburgh’s defensive collapse during the season’s final weeks. The Steelers’ defense (the league’s most expensive unit) had just given up 299 rushing yards to the Ravens that included 186 to Derrick Henry, the most-ever allowed by a Steelers defense in a postseason game.
“I think we just got too comfortable,” Queen said. “Started chasing too many things. I think we just let off the pedal, in all seriousness. … That’s why we’re in the position that we’re in.”
Too comfortable? Let off the pedal? To be clear, as good as they defense played at times, they were never to be confused with the Steel Curtain or any other legendary defense. They were never the NFL’s top defense this year. While Queen’s honestly is appreciated, him saying that the defense stated to ease up is an indictment on the culture that permeates within that locker room. That starts with head coach.
But that’s not the only damming soundbite that came from the losing locker room. George Pickens, the team’s top receiver, said that he has seen improvement from Pittsburgh’s offense since his rookie season. As a follow-up, he was asked if that improvement gives him optimism moving forward.
“Uh, nah,” was Pickens’ response.
Once again, this goes back to the culture (or lack thereof). Pickens, who was drafted by the Steelers back in 2022 despite clear red flags regarding his maturity issues, has had numerous problems controlling his emotions since coming to Pittsburgh. He was escorted off the field by security at the end of Pittsburgh’s loss in Cleveland, got into a verbal altercation with fans during last week’s loss to the Bengals and has created more distractions than big plays. Pickens finished Saturday’s game with 87 yards and a score on five catches, but he had just one catch in the first half as the Steelers fell behind 21-0.
Second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said afterwards that the losing streak wasn’t all on Tomlin. Porter is right, but as the head coach, the buck stops and ends with you. Tomlin rightfully gets heaps of praise for the Steelers’ 18 consecutive non-losing seasons under his watch. But that shouldn’t shield him from criticism regarding the Steelers’ late-season collapse and their lack of recent playoff success.
As far as Queen’s comments, I don’t solely blame Tomlin for that. They’re professionals, and it shouldn’t be Tomlin’s job to motivate them to play hard. But it does say something about Tomlin’s messaging and whether or not it resonates like it used to. This team needed something, or someone, to help right the ship during the season’s final five weeks. That never happened, and the result is another season without a playoff win.
Intangibles aside, Tomlin’s coaching decisions also need to be evaluated. The Steelers’ offense, for example, lost their identity after Russell Wilson took over for Justin Fields after Fields helped lead Pittsburgh to a 4-2 start. With Fields, the Steelers were a run-first, pass second team that relied on defense, taking care of the ball and kicking to win.
While that may not have gotten them further than where they ultimately ended up, at least the Steelers had an identity to fall back on. Their lack of one was on full display Saturday night. It was a stark contrast to the Ravens, who know exactly who they are from an identity standpoint.
In Week 18 against the Bengals, Tomlin had Cory Trice Jr., a second-year cornerback making his first career start, matched up one-on-one against wideout Ja’Marr Chase — the NFL’s triple crown winner — in the red zone. You don’t need me to tell you how that turned out. That was also the game that saw the Steelers run the ball on their first 12 first downs, a decision Tomlin actually defended afterwards instead of acknowledging that Pittsburgh’s offense could be a little more creative.
A lot of what transpired over the last month was also simply the reality that this was a good team that couldn’t hang with the big boys. Yes, the 2024 Steelers had some talented players. But they simply had too many weaknesses that championship-caliber teams don’t have, starting with the quarterback and receiver positions. The offensive line’s (which started two rookies all year due to multiple season-ending injuries during the preseason) lack of marked improvement throughout the year and the defense’s unexpected dip in performance near the end of the season obviously didn’t help matters.
Every good team has something that they fall back on. The Steelers did not. For years, it was the running game, the defense and/or a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Pittsburgh didn’t have that in 2024, and that was especially obvious during the five-game losing streak.
On paper, the Steelers going 10-7 and losing to a more talented Ravens team in the first round of the playoffs was par for the course for this team. But Steelers fans want and expect more than that after yet another year of being good but not good enough.
While Tomlin’s future is once again a hot-button topic, it’s simply not worth going down that road. Tomlin signed an extension last year that runs through the 2027 season. The extension was done in good faith by Steelers president Art Rooney II, who said at the time that he looks forward to Tomlin getting the Steelers back to winning playoff games and competing for championships, things that had become the standard for a franchise with six Vince Lombardi Trophies.
It can be argued, but Tomlin earned that extension through his success up to that point. That extension was basically four more opportunities to get the franchise back to where it expects to be.
Tomlin and the Steelers came up short this year, and if that continues over the next three years, it’s safe to assume that Tomlin’s run as Steelers’ coach will come to an end. The Steelers don’t fire coaches, but they didn’t necessarily allow Chuck Noll, the four-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, to leave entirely on his own terms. Not renewing a contract is not the same as firing someone.
Tomlin may not want to coach that long, anyway. It’s safe to wonder whether or not he wants to continue coaching in 2025 given how this year ended. If he coaches through 2027, Tomlin will be 55 at that point and will have most likely passed Noll as the Steelers’ career leader in wins. Not a bad legacy to have.
Based on what we know, one can expect Tomlin to coach the Steelers through 2027. It’s reasonable to expect that the Steelers will continue to have similar results unless Tomlin makes some drastic changes that need to start now.
For starters, the Steelers need to make changes regarding assistant coaches, starting with the underperforming defense. As far as the front office, the Steelers need to start investing more in the offense; tight end Pat Freiermuth was the only starter on that side of ball sans Wilson that was on a second contract in 2024. It was clear to everyone that the Steelers needed a proven, veteran receiver opposite Pickens. Pittsburgh never got said player despite reportedly being in the mix to land several notable wideouts during the offseason and again at the trade deadline.
If they can, the Steelers need to rid themselves of bad salaries (Alex Highsmith) and bad attitudes (Pickens). They need to even consider trading one of their best players (Minkah Fitzpatrick or even T.J. Watt) if the price is right.
Pittsburgh should avoid taking further risks on players with character questions. The Steelers need more players that prioritize team over self. Pittsburgh has lots of guys like that now (see Calvin Austin III), but just not enough of them.
Quarterback, the position that has plagued them since the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era, needs to be solidified. Wilson can come back, but he needs to actually compete for the job. Maybe have an actual position battle between him, Fields and a young quarterback acquired either in free agency or via the draft. They could also blow the room up for a second straight year and start over. Either way, they need to make a plan and stick to it.
The biggest change, though, needs to come from the head coach. For whatever reason, Tomlin was unable to push the right buttons late in the 2024 season when things went south. Rest assured that Tomlin is already trying to figure out what went wrong how to rectify it.
What could 2025 look like? Probably more of the same, unless the Steelers actually do make sweeping changes to the roster and coaching staff. That could actually lead to the Steelers’ first losing season in over 20 years, but if that ultimately leads to a legitimate championship runs in 2026 and beyond, will anyone care if the Steelers’ streak of non-losing seasons comes to an end?
Tomlin has three years left to get the Steelers back to winning playoff games and competing for Super Bowls. If you’re a Tomlin fan, you should look at the next three years with guarded optimism and appreciation for Tomlin and the level of consistent success the Steelers have enjoyed over his stewardship. The Steelers, after all, have had a lot of success under Tomlin is doesn’t come along very often.
Conversely, Tomlin’s detractors can take solace in knowing that the end is near, even if it is not as close as they would probably like it to be.
