The Steelers are now in their offseason after failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, coming up just a game short of sneaking in as the seventh seed. They needed help in week 18 and only got some of it, so instead they sat home and watched the playoffs with the rest of us.
On tap is figuring out how to be on the field in January and February instead of being a spectator. They started out 2-6, digging a hole that proved too deep to dig out of even if they managed to go 7-2 in the second half of the year.
Starting from the end of the regular season and leading all the way up to the beginning of the 2023 season, there are plenty of questions that need answered, starting with who will be the offensive coordinator. Which free agents will be kept? Who might be let go due to their salary? How might they tackle free agency with this new front office? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout this offseason, as we have for many years.
Question: What is the biggest issue outside of the roster holding the Steelers back from competing?
We recently asked you what issue within the Steelers’ roster you believe is the biggest in terms of holding them back from competing for championships. We asked you specifically to leave out concerns beyond the athletic personnel. The reason is because that’s what we’re asking you now.
The players are the players. They’re the ones who do the work on the field. But they’re not the ones who decide who is on the field—or even in the locker room. They don’t decide what plays are going to be run, who is going to be paid what, or even what techniques they will use as they play.
These are all decisions that are made for them, and certainly some decisions more than others could be made better. Surely there are things that they could be doing differently that would be more conducive to producing winning football.
So which is the biggest issue? Is it the decision to stick with Matt Canada as offensive coordinator? Is it Mike Tomlin and his message growing stale? Is it a stubbornness to resist change within the organization? Has it been personnel decisions by the front office? Has it been drafting? Coaching? In-game or pre-game?
No organization is perfect. Every team has an owner, a head coach, and a general manager who get things wrong at least occasionally. And sometimes even if you seemingly manage to do everything right, injuries get in the way and derail things.
But the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in six years. One begins to wonder when that is going to change, and what it is going to take to change it.
