The culture of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and the “Steeler Way” have become recurring topics lately. We had heated debates, as did the media, about whether the “Way” still existed. That conversation frequently gravitated toward the wide receiver position for understandable reasons.
Both Diontae Johnson and George Pickens had their low moments on and off the field a year ago. In turn, each of them failed to block for a teammate or otherwise gave low effort in a key moment. They also both managed to put their foot in their mouths when speaking about it later on. Pickens, in particular, had his battles in knowing what not to say.
The end result came as no great surprise. While the Steelers have made no announcements, owner Art Rooney II implicitly confirmed that they are moving on from Frisman Jackson, who served as wide receivers coach for the past two seasons. They are reportedly hiring Zach Azzanni to take over the role, but what kind of difference can he make in managing the culture of that particular room?
Asked if new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has the ability to improve culture in the room, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that nobody does.
“All those WRs are divas (or wanna-be divas) who think they should get the ball and nobody else. Smith can improve the production; I can’t promise an attitude change. That comes from the top.”
There is only so much that a position coach can do, as they all have their marching orders. Hines Ward has come up lately as a hypothetical candidate for the job. There was reportedly mutual interest back in 2018, but Ward did not want to be beholden to exceptions for certain players and limit his ability to hold them—specifically Antonio Brown—accountable.
What kind of leeway might Pickens or Johnson have right now that they are allowed to get away with? This was yet another significant subject during the season. Head coach Mike Tomlin drew sharp criticism when he declined to bench Pickens. Obviously, he plays an integral role in setting the boundaries coaches must adhere to.
But it ultimately goes up to Art Rooney II as owner of the franchise. He can tell Tomlin to leave the kid gloves off when dealing with certain players. Tomlin has no problem calling out anybody in the film room when they do something wrong.
We are still learning about Arthur Smith. The Steelers haven’t even announced Zach Azzanni’s hiring yet, so needless to say, there’s an information gap there as well. But both of them will be responsible for coaching in a fashion that Tomlin approves, and Rooney will sanction all of that.
We don’t know what conversations take place behind closed doors. Rooney may hand Tomlin over blank checks, but that doesn’t mean he never shares a harsh word. He’s invested in the “Steeler Way” and surely doesn’t like a lot of what we saw last year. The Steelers were getting bad press on a weekly basis. A new receivers coach won’t magically fix everything.
