For the eighth straight year, the Pittsburgh Steelers will begin their offseason without a single playoff win. Mike Tomlin's team looked promising in the first half of the season, but Pittburgh's late-season collapse carried into the playoffs and showed their true colors in a pitiful Wild Card loss against the Ravens.
Hope isn't lost forever, but fans are discouraged and desperate for answers. At what point is having a winning record still enough when it's accompanied by zero playoff success? It's time to make some serious changes.
Don't expect anything too drastic, though. The Steelers' top-billed coaches are still under contract and are likely to stay put. Still, ownership is getting restless and the front office will be given the ability to get this team back on track. These four things must be fixed if the Steelers want to avoid another early playoff exit next year.
Steelers' wide receiver room needs an overhaul
During the 2024 offseason, we talked about how the wide receiver position could be the Achilles heel of the Steelers. Sadly, it was. This unspectacular group was worse than anyone could have anticipated, as players like Van Jefferson and Mike Williams failed to make a difference.
George Pickens, the top wideout on the team, was inconsistent and unreliable despite his high moments. Now it's clear the Steelers need a makeover at the position.
In 2025, Pittsburgh will get their first real look at third-round pick Roman Wilson, while Calvin Austin III performed well enough to at least play out the final year of his rookie contract next season. As for the rest of the group, nobody's job should be safe—even Pickens, who could emerge as a trade candidate because of his continued antics.
The Steelers need to invest heavily in the wide receiver position through free agency and the NFL Draft. They can't find themselves in a repeat situation at wide receiver in 2025.
A change at defensive coordinator is necessary
I don't care that the Pittsburgh Steelers handed Teryl Austin a two-year contract extension last January and that he's employed with the team through the 2025 season. Austin's defense simply isn't working and Mike Tomlin has every reason to look for outside help at defensive coordinator.
Despite inheriting a Steelers defense in 2022 that already included multiple All-Pro players and the fact that Pittsburgh spent more money on defense than any team in the NFL since Austin has been the DC, the results have been modest at best. Austin's defense was above average in most metrics, but Pittsburgh has invested too much into this unit for it not to be great.
The most incriminating argument against keeping Austin is his utter lack of aggressiveness when getting after the quarterback. The Steelers blitzed just 25.9 percent of the time in passing situations during the 2024 season. In comparison, teams at the top of the league Vikings (38.9 percent blitz rate) and Lions (34.6 percent) blitzed significantly more.
Austin was also reluctant to run stunts or move his best players (like T.J. Watt) around the formation. The final nail in the coffin for Austin was leaving cornerback Cory Trice Jr. on an island with Ja'Marr Chase in Trice's first start in Week 18. Enough is enough; the Steelers need a change at defensive coordinator.
Steelers need more creativity on offense
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't getting rid of Arthur Smith one year after inking a three-year contract during the 2024 offseason. While many fans would argue that the Smith experiment should end early, Pittsburgh is going to press through with their offensive coordinator.
However, there's no question that things need to improve on offense, and it starts with adding creativity. Smith's run-heavy game plan was easy for opposing teams to figure out. Everyone and their mother knew the Steelers wanted to run the ball heavily, but the rushing attack only got worse as the season went on.
By the end of his first season as OC in Pittsburgh, Smith's offense was less efficient at both running the football and in play-action situations than Matt Canada was in 2023 with the Steelers. Smith is a better offensive coordinator in Canada, but running the ball over 40 percent of the time on first downs is too predictable.
If Smith wants to play out his contract and earn another shot as an NFL head coach, he needs to have an efficient season. This starts with getting creative and aggressive in 2025.
Pittsburgh needs a new starting quarterback
I wanted Russell Wilson to work. I really did. But if the 36-year-old quarterback wasn't good enough to bring the Steelers playoff success in 2024, what makes anyone believe that he will be better for Pittsburgh at 37 years old and beyond when his contract is taking up much more of the team's total salary cap?
Wilson proved to be a serviceable stop-gap quarterback for Pittsburgh this past season and the Steelers could have done far worse. But to take the next step forward, it's going to require a fresh QB who can step in and give this team a spark.
Unfortunately, there's no great answer as to whom this player might be. The top quarterbacks in the NFL Draft will be long gone before the Steelers are on the clock, and Sam Darnold is likely to return to the Vikings on a new contract.
Perhaps rolling with Justin Fields—who is over a decade younger than Wilson—is a better stop-gap solution. Regardless, Wilson showed his age late in the season and the Steelers need to hunt for a new starting quarterback in 2025.