For an organization that is a perennial playoff regular and has six Super Bowl rings, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ recent conduct does not meet “The Standard” whatsoever. Their recent actions are comparable to those of the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and other struggling franchises. The Steelers have built a history of mismanaging problematic wide receivers and failing to find a long-term answer at quarterback. However, they’ve started to pick up a new habit. They’ve begun pulling themselves in too many directions.
This started with the selection of Kenny Pickett with their first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. While he showed only brief flashes of adequacy, at least Pittsburgh was starting to show signs that they were a team that was trying to build for a better future. However, that plan was completely abandoned when the Steelers decided to sign Russell Wilson and trade Kenny Pickett to compete. They confused us again by trading for Justin Fields, a developmental quarterback who could improve in the future. This move created a clear conflict of direction.
The Steelers started Fields for the first six games before deciding to abruptly start Russell Wilson for the rest of the season. Sure, they would end the season at 10-7, but Fields didn’t perform terribly in his starts and won four out of those six games.
Pittsburgh lost several starters in 2025 Free Agency, including James Daniels, Dan Moore Jr., Donte Jackson, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. This would suggest that this might be the year to try to rebuild this roster, with less overall depth on the roster. Pittsburgh would once again subvert our expectations, trade for and extend DK Metcalf, before signing Aaron Rodgers, suggesting they’re trying to win. Once again, the Steelers muddied their direction by trading away George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, draining their wide receiver depth.
More recently, they traded away their star safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick, for an aging Jalen Ramsey and Arthur Smith’s favorite weapon, Jonnu Smith. This suggests, once again, that they are in win-now mode.
If their offseason wasn’t chaotic enough, now they are in a heated contract dispute with superstar pass rusher T.J. Watt, who allegedly wants to be paid as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.
The most baffling part of all is that, instead of signing T.J. Watt, securing their best player and making a run to win the Super Bowl, the Steelers are now exploring the return they could get in a possible Watt trade.
What on earth are they doing? Are they trying to compete or not? This feels like the most convoluted way to finish 9-8 or worse. If a T.J. Watt trade goes through, this team will crumble, losing a Defensive Player of the Year and a locker room leader. There’s no question that if this team doesn’t make the playoffs, major changes should and will be made.
Here are three of the Steelers that will be taking the blame for this and be fired or worse.
Teryl Austin
Teryl Austin is the current defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Teryl is a veteran NFL coordinator, dating back to his time with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won Super Bowl 47 with them. He would go on to coach a few other teams, including the Lions and the Bengals, before he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 as the senior defensive assistant & secondary coach. He would be promoted to their defensive coordinator in 2022, following the retirement of their defensive coordinator at the time, Keith Butler.
Under his tenure, the Steelers have had one of the best defensive lines in the league, consistently ranking highly in terms of sacks, pressures, and quarterback hurries. However, the secondary hasn’t been matching the productivity of the front seven. Whether it’s a lack of personnel at cornerback and safety or poor play, it’s incredibly concerning to be ranked in the bottom 10 teams in terms of coverage grade last season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Especially since, based on Teryl’s history as a former coach of the secondary, it should be his specialty.
Without T.J. Watt, the pass rush simply won’t be as effective, leading to quarterbacks having far more time to throw the ball. The secondary, while improved with the additions of Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay, can still be exposed without the additional help from T.J.. Teryl Austin could very well be out of a job if his defense underperforms and doesn’t live up to what it’s been in years past.
Aaron Rodgers
This may puzzle some people. How can someone who plays on the other side of the ball be impacted by T.J. Watt being traded away? It’s because T.J. Watt’s presence makes this team a contender. Never was this clearer than in the 2022 season. In the very first game of the 2022 season, T.J. Watt suffered a pectoral tear and would miss seven games. With T.J. Watt, they were 8-2; without him, they were 1-6. This franchise is completely different when he’s not on the team.
Aaron Rodgers was signed to the Steelers to make one last Super Bowl push before Pittsburgh needs to reset its roster. They may view him as a Brett Favre or a Tom Brady type, as a 40-year-old quarterback who can take them deep into the playoffs. As soon as T.J. Watt is traded from this team, the Steelers are no longer competitive. If Aaron were to end his career with two disappointing stints in New York and Pittsburgh, it could severely impact his legacy. No Packers fan would be able to call him the greatest quarterback in their franchise's history. Many may criticize Brett Favre's reckless play style, but at least he took the Vikings to the NFC Championship before calling it quits.
The absolute worst-case scenario would be the Steelers, without T.J., finally accepting they're in rebuild mode and benching Aaron Rodgers to improve their draft position. At that point, he might actually be too good for the rest of the roster and end up winning games that don't mean anything. To lock up a better shot at a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, they might turn to Mason Rudolph or see what they've got in Will Howard. There would be no worse send-off for the four-time MVP than for him to be sitting on the sidelines, as a sixth-round pick takes his first starting snaps.
Mike Tomlin
This one will be incredibly bittersweet for many Steelers fans, as Mike Tomlin has brought plenty of success to Pittsburgh. He’s won 183 games over 18 seasons, he’s brought the team to two Super Bowls, won one of them and has never finished below .500. However, Tomlin is a coach who, at this point, is living off his legacy. While he’s made it to the playoffs on four occasions in the last seven years, he hasn’t made it past the wild-card game in those seasons.
Since 2018, he’s built a track record of hiring offensive coordinators who underperform, with none lasting more than three seasons. His recent offenses have held this team back massively. While he may delegate offensive play-calling decisions to his coordinators, it is ultimately his job to hire the best people and put this team in the best position to win.
As soon as T.J. Watt is traded away, this team is no longer in a position to win. It would be a bloated roster that sounds more impressive than it actually is. Trading T.J. would be the first sign that the team is moving in a different direction, perhaps less focused on a disruptive defense. There’s a chance that while the Steelers find a new direction, they may need a new leader in charge. It does seem that in this scenario, Pittsburgh will have simply outgrown Mike Tomlin and will need to find a new coach to bring them success.