We asked for it, but we did not receive it. After the Steelers continued their eight-year drought without a playoff win, fans called for Pittsburgh to make major changes to its coaching staff in 2025. That isn't happening.
Recently, Art Rooney II sat down for a one-on-one end-of-season interview with broadcaster Rob King where he fielded questions about the state of the team. Rooney II made it clear that he would like either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson on the roster for the coming season—preferably on a multi-year deal. He also shut down the idea of the Steelers increasing the size of its coaching staff (one of the smallest in the league).
But when asked about coaching changes, Rooney II didn't give the answer we all hoped for.
“The coaching staff, I think most of it will stay in place,” Rooney told King. “Our coordinators, I think, will stay in place. … I look forward to having Arthur Smith for a second year and having him have more of an opportunity to kind of really put his system in place. So there’s work to be done. And for the most part, I think we have the right people and the right jobs to do it.”
After signing a three-year contract with the Steelers, Arthur Smith was never going to be fired this offseason. Teryl Austin, on the other hand, is a different story. Though the defensive coordinator still has one year remaining on his contract, Austin's despicable defensive game plan down the stretch is grounds for divorce from the team.
Steelers are foolish not to make significant coaching changes
If any coaching changes come for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it won't be to Mike Tomlin or any of the three coordinators. Instead, based on Rooney's response, it's likely to be just a few assistant coaches who have expiring contracts. This is not the significant change this team needs.
As furious as fans are with Coach Tomlin after another season that ended in disappointment, there's even more reason to move on from Austin.
In the Week 18 season finale—a must-win game that would have ensured the Steelers a better matchup in the Wild Card round of the playoffs—Austin's game plan couldn't have been worse.
Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator elected to leave cornerback Cory Trice Jr. on an island with Ja'Marr Chase—the triple-crown wide receiver and Offensive Player of the Year candidate. This was Trice's first-ever NFL start, and his assignment couldn't have been more difficult.
In the following week in the playoffs against the Ravens, Austin's game plan should have had him fired at halftime. With no Zay Flowers, Baltimore rolled out six offensive linemen 22.2 percent of the time (in addition to frequently using 300-pound fullback Patrick Richard) and pounded the rock with 245-pound All-Pro running back, Derrick Henry.
Pittsburgh's solution to stopping one of the league's most lethal rushing attacks was deploying their nickel defense with five defensive backs on the field for roughly half the game. And they wonder how the Ravens were able to rush for 299 yards against them.
Teryl Austin is far from the only problem on the team, but firing him this offseason should have been an easy move. Regardless of which coaches remain under contract, Art Rooney II needs to make more significant changes to his coaching staff if this team wants to find better results in 2025. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that is happening.