The Pittsburgh Steelers fell apart over the last month of the 2024 season. Things were ugly, and the offense was disappointing. Given that the unit was on a hot streak before eventually falling off a cliff, Mike Tomlin’s team finished the year in extremely frustrating fashion. Both offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and QB Russell Wilson struggled to adjust to anything defenses threw at them during that stretch.
Recent reports have suggested there was a disconnect between the two, specifically in terms of changing plays at the line of scrimmage. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Jason Mackey thinks the problems stem beyond Smith and Wilson though.
“It points to the top,” Mackey said, via the Post Gazette’s YouTube channel. “Mike Tomlin has the ability to change anything like that. If Mike Tomlin wants to empower his quarterback, you sit the two men down in the room and say, ‘Look, Russ has final say.’ Mike Tomlin didn’t do that. It’s on him. It’s the same thing that happened with Ben Roethlisberger. So yes, there are common links here that point to Mike Tomlin. I think it’s horrendous.”
Steelers insider Gerry Dulac reported earlier this week that Smith balked at allowing Wilson to change plays at the line of scrimmage, even after the quarterback’s elite performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. That report upset a lot of Steelers fans, who wondered why Pittsburgh would bring in an experienced quarterback like Wilson only to limit what he’s allowed to do at the line.
However, on Wednesday, that report was rebuffed by CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala. That led people to wonder whether it was Wilson’s camp potentially leaking something to paint the quarterback in a better light, given the offense’s struggles to end the year. Even that is questionable. Wilson’s made it clear he wants to return to Pittsburgh. There isn’t much for him to gain in that situation.
At the end of the day, the buck stops at the head coach. If Pittsburgh doesn’t completely collapse toward the end of the season, these topics never come up in the first place. Tomlin promised change earlier this offseason. There’s been little of that and now more drama than he’d like.
Mackey thinks this is a continuing theme with Tomlin. The offense’s struggles certainly are. When they were 10-3, it seemed like the Steelers had found stability at the quarterback position. Then they finished with the same record they had with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph in 2023. These struggles are becoming a continuing theme with Tomlin, who finds himself in a difficult spot.
