Nothing defines an NFL team more than its culture. Some teams like the Cleveland Browns have struggled with creating a defined culture, leading to their franchise being directionless. Other teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers have had their culture ingrained in every facet of their organization, which keeps them as one of the league’s most consistent teams. It seems players recognize that difference among teams too, with one former Steeler detailing what made Pittsburgh different from another team he spent time with.
Myles Jack was a linebacker for the Steelers in 2022 and 2023, but before that, he spent basically the rest of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jack was instrumental in helping to lead the Jaguars to their most successful season in 2017. That year saw the Jaguars’ defense terrorize the Steelers, sending them home in their only playoff game that year. Recently, Jack appeared in the commentary booth during a baseball game in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In a video uploaded to broadcaster Noah Epstein’s YouTube channel, Jack was asked to explain the difference between the Jaguars and the Steelers.
“Jacksonville’s a new organization, I think they were made in 1995, when I was born,” Jack said. “The Steelers have been around since, great-grandparents have watched their games, so people are born into that. It’s definitely that tradition and everything, you can’t beat that. They’ve had years of experience. Six Super Bowls, that history is strong down there.”
The roots of the Steelers’ organization can be traced to 1933, so Jack is correct that they’ve had far more time to establish themselves than the Jaguars. That isn’t a knock against he Jaguars, especially since they’ve come closer to a Super Bowl more recently than the Steelers, but it does show why the Steelers’ organization is held in such high regard. History matters.
Jack had actually retired last year before the season started but came back to football when the Steelers called after their linebacker room was decimated by injuries. Considering he was coming off the couch, Jack played fairly well too, arguably better than his first stint with the team. It’s a good question to wonder if the Steelers’ history and his good experience with them were part of the reason Jack came out of retirement, and if he would have made the same decision if another team had called him.
Jack had a fine year with the Steelers in 2023 and helped them weather a storm of injuries that they can hopefully avoid this year, but he probably won’t become a Steeler for a third time. Although it doesn’t make up for the whooping Jack helped the Jaguars give the Steelers in 2017, it helps that he’s got such a strong opinion of Pittsburgh. The Jaguars have always been a nagging thorn in the Steelers’ side, and although they left Pittsburgh with another win last year, it may have been the Steelers who had the last laugh.
Although history is on their side, the Steelers will need to keep marching forward and creating new history this year if they don’t want to end up like the Jaguars or Browns. Not winning a playoff game since 2016 says a lot. The 2024 Steelers look like the best team they’ve fielded in recent years, so they have no excuses to not improve upon what they did last year. As long as they stay healthy, the Steelers should once again prove why what Jack is saying is true.
