There are countless 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 the fifth consecutive loss to end the season. But one reason stands out above the rest, one that shouldn’t make Steelers fans feel too good about the franchise’s near-term future.
Mike Tomlin seemed to lose this team, at least enough, during the end of what was once a promising year. That’s damning for any coach, let alone one as respected as Tomlin, whose career in Pittsburgh will likely end with him someday enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
If you doubt that Tomlin has lost at least a part of this team, listen to what Steelers starting linebacker Patrick Queen said after Saturday night’s loss when asked about Pittsburgh’s defensive collapse during the last weeks of the season. The Steelers defense (the most expensive unit in the league) had just given up 299 rushing yards to the Ravens, including 186 to Derrick Henry, the most allowed by a Steelers defense in a postseason game.
“I think we got too comfortable,” Queen said. “We started chasing too many things. I think we just let off the gas, in all seriousness… That’s why we’re in the position we’re in.”
Too comfortable? Release the pedal? To be clear, no matter how good their defense was at times, they were never to be confused with the Iron Curtain or any other legendary defense. They were never the best defense in the NFL this year. While Queen is honestly thanked, for him to say that the defense declared they will relax is a criticism of the culture that permeates that locker room. That starts with the head coach.
But that’s not the only damning comment that came from the losing locker room. George Pickens, the team’s top receiver, said he has seen improvement in Pittsburgh’s offense since his rookie season. He was then asked if that improvement gives him optimism moving forward.
“Uh, no,” was Pickens’ response.
Again, this goes back to culture (or lack thereof). Pickens, who was drafted by the Steelers in 2022 despite clear red flags regarding his maturity issues, has had numerous problems controlling his emotions since arriving in Pittsburgh. He was escorted off the field by security late in Pittsburgh’s loss at 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 touchdown on five receptions, but had only one catch in the first half as the Steelers trailed 21-0.
Second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said afterward that the losing streak wasn’t all Tomlin’s. Porter is right, but as a head coach, the buck stops with you. Tomlin rightly receives a lot of praise for the Steelers’ 18 consecutive undefeated seasons under his direction. But that shouldn’t shield him from criticism about the Steelers’ late-season collapse and lack of recent playoff success.
As for Queen’s comments, I don’t solely blame Tomlin for that. They are professionals and it shouldn’t be Tomlin’s job to motivate them to play hard. But it does say something about Tomlin’s messages and whether or not they resonate like they used to. This team needed something, or someone, to help right the ship during the final five weeks of the season. That never happened and the result is another season without winning the playoffs.
Intangibles aside, Tomlin’s coaching decisions also need to be evaluated. The Steelers’ offense, for example, lost its identity after Russell Wilson replaced Justin Fields after Fields helped lead Pittsburgh to a 4-2 start. Under Fields, the Steelers were a run-first, pass-later team that relied on defense, taking care of the ball and kicking to win.
While that may not have taken them any further than where they ultimately ended up, at least the Steelers had an identity to fall back on. His lack of one was evident 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, go one-on-one against wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, the Triple Crown winner. of the NFL, in red. area. You don’t need me to tell you how that turned out. That was also the game in which the Steelers ran the ball on their first 12 downs, a decision Tomlin actually defended afterward instead of acknowledging that Pittsburgh’s offense could be a little more creative.
A lot of what happened over the last month was also just the reality that this was a good team that couldn’t compete 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 lack of marked improvement from the offensive line (which started two rookies all year due to multiple season-ending injuries during the preseason) and the unexpected drop in performance from the defense near the end of the season obviously did not They helped.
Every good team has something to fall back on. The Steelers didn’t. For years, he was the running game, 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 topic, it’s simply not worth going down that path. Tomlin signed an extension last year that runs through the 2027 season. The extension was made in good faith by Steelers president Art Rooney II, who said at the time that he hoped Tomlin would get the Steelers back to winning games. of playoffs and competing for championships, things that had become the standard for a franchise with six Vinces. Lombardi Trophies.
You can argue, but Tomlin earned that extension thanks to his success up to that point. That extension was basically four more opportunities to get the franchise back to where it hopes 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 Tomlin’s career as Steelers coach will come to an end. The Steelers don’t fire coaches, but they didn’t necessarily let four-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Chuck Noll leave completely on his own terms. Not renewing a contract is not the same as firing someone.
Still, Tomlin may not want to train for that long. It’s safe to wonder whether or not he wants to continue coaching in 2025, given how he finished this year. If he coaches until 2027, Tomlin will be 55 years old at that point and will likely have passed Noll as the Steelers’ all-time leader in wins. It’s not a bad legacy.
Based on what we know, Tomlin can be expected to coach the Steelers through 2027. It’s reasonable to expect the Steelers to continue seeing 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 for 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 the ball without Wilson who had a second contract in 2024. It was clear to everyone that the Steelers needed a veteran, proven receiver opposite Pickens. Pittsburgh never landed said player even though it was reportedly in the mix to land several notable wide receivers during the offseason and again at the trade deadline.
If they can, the Steelers need to get rid of bad salaries (Alex Highsmith) and bad attitudes (Pickens). They should even consider trading one of their best players (Minkah Fitzpatrick or even TJ Watt) if the price is right.
Pittsburgh should avoid taking further risks with players with character questions. The Steelers need more players who prioritize the team over themselves. Pittsburgh has a lot of guys like that now (see Calvin Austin III), but not enough.
Quarterback, the position that has plagued them since the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era, needs to solidify. Wilson can return, but he needs to compete for the job. Maybe we have a real position battle between him, Fields and a young quarterback acquired either in free agency or through the draft. They might as well blow up the room for the second year in a row and start over. Either way, they need to make a plan and stick to it.
The biggest change, however, has to come from the head coach. For whatever reason, Tomlin couldn’t press the right buttons at the end of the 2024 season when things went wrong. Rest assured, Tomlin is already trying to figure out what went wrong and how to rectify it.
What could the year 2025 be like? Probably more of the same unless the Steelers really make radical changes to the roster and coaching staff. In reality, that could lead to the Steelers’ first losing season in more than 20 years, but if that ultimately leads to a legitimate championship in 2026 and beyond, will anyone care if the Steelers’ streak of unbeaten seasons comes to an end?
Tomlin has three years left until the Steelers win playoff games again and compete for Super Bowls. If you’re a Tomlin fan, you should look at the next three years with cautious optimism and appreciation for Tomlin and the level of consistent success the Steelers have enjoyed during his tenure. The Steelers, after all, have had a lot of success under Tomlin and that doesn’t happen very often.
By contrast, Tomlin’s detractors can take comfort in knowing that the end is near, even if it’s not as close as they’d probably like it to be.
