There are very few people who can speak to the way that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization is run better than current head coach Mike Tomlin or former head coach Bill Cowher. The latter spent 15 seasons with the team and knows all too well what this time of year can feel like after a disappointing season.
Similar to Tomlin, Cowher found early success with a trip to the Super Bowl in his fourth season. He then had a long drought until he ultimately won it 10 years later. That included a three-year playoff drought from 1998 to 2000. He can speak to the uncomfortable conversations that happen behind closed doors.
“There’s gonna be some uncomfortable conversations that they’ve had to have, and I know that Art Rooney [II] will be a part of that. Omar Khan will be a part of that,” Cowher said Thursday via The Rich Eisen Show. “They’ll sit down and look at what their options are and have a plan moving forward. More so than the quarterback position, I think it’s gotta start with that defensive staff and philosophically speaking, ‘Where do we go from here?'”
Tomlin hinted at the expectation of changes at “a lot of levels” after another disappointing postseason exit, but nothing has happened almost two weeks later. Rooney spoke of a growing frustration after last year’s disappointment, so it seems unlikely things will remain status quo.
Cowher explained what could be causing the delay.
“I think they got a chance to get away. I think the worst thing you could do is make rash decisions and not be hasty in doing that. Remove the emotion,” Cowher said. “I think that’s what happened last week, and I think as they came back this week, there’ll be a lot of those conversations.”
Cowher said that conversation always begins with the coaching staff before moving onto players. It seems unlikely that the Steelers are going to run it back with the exact same coaching staff, even if some of the guys are technically under contract for another year. Various team insiders have debated how likely it is that the Steelers move on from certain coaches ranging from OL coach Pat Meyer all the way to DC Teryl Austin. There have also been suggestions that they could add to what is one of the smallest coaching staffs in the league with a senior assistant of some kind.
“It’s total transparency in the room,” Cowher said. “And it’s not being hurt by someone’s feeling, not being hurt by disagreeing with someone sitting there and talking about what’s in the best interest of your football team. Recognizing you’re gonna have to have some collaboration between you, which means some sacrifice on everybody’s part to walk outta that room with a collective agreement.”
Whatever those changes are, Cowher is certain that Tomlin is unwavering in his pursuit of better results.
“He’ll have more resolve than he’s ever had before. That’s just who he is. That’s how he’s wired,” Cowher said.
Hard Knocks gave a look behind the scenes at Tomlin’s level of disappointment via his end-of-season speech to the team. As Tomlin noted, they can’t spend too long in the disappointment of it all as the focus already shifts to next season.
With the all-star games beginning over the next few days, many of the Steelers coaches and front office folks will be headed to Texas and Alabama as they continue preparing for the 2025 NFL Draft. OC Arthur Smith was hired right at the end of the all-star week last year with other assistant hires coming in the following weeks. There can definitely still be changes, and Cowher gave some insight into what might be holding things up.
Like it or not, but the Steelers are an organization that values stability. When things are going well, it is praised as one of their biggest assets. When things are going poorly, it’s criticized as a lowering of the standard.
