The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won enough when it matters lately, and it’s led to criticism of head coach Mike Tomlin. For a Steelers organization with six Super Bowl wins, playoff success is an expectation in the city of Pittsburgh, and it’s one that hasn’t been met in a long time. Former Steelers CB Mel Blount was one of the big reasons why the Steelers became a dynasty in the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls in the decade, and Blount said on Ben Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast that the expectations created by those teams have not been met in recent years.
“The fan base, at some point, just some winning seasons, not good enough. Especially when you’ve had the best, and you know what the best feels like, look like, taste like, you don’t want to just year-after-year get subpar stuff,” he said. “And I think that’s the dilemma with Mike Tomlin. Great coach, he’s had a great career, but the old saying, whatcha done for me lately? It’s not Mike’s fault. You got the salary cap, you got player movement, I mean there’s so many things that goes on and really determines whether or not you’ll be able to get into the dance, get into the playoffs and make a run at things.”
The game has changed since the 1970s with the advent of free agency and more player freedom and roster movement, but it’s been that way for decades now and the Steelers still haven’t won enough. The frustration with Tomlin and the Steelers for being unable to win when it matters is certainly warranted, and Blount seems to understand where that’s coming from, even if he isn’t putting the blame on Tomlin.
Blount also talked about George Pickens, Pittsburgh’s mercurial wide receiver. While Pickens has been the Steelers’ top receiver the last two years, his stint in Pittsburgh has been rife with concerns about his attitude and temperament, and post-game outbursts against the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys last season haven’t quelled those concerns.
“You take a guy like Pickens. If your star players are going to have bad attitudes and outbursts, that’s not good,” Blount said. “It’s interesting. A reporter asked Chuck Noll one time, ‘How do you keep winning?’ And you know what he said? He said, ‘Good people.’ And when you think about that, that’s a pretty profound statement. So you need good people.
“You need people who can look at the situation and then put somebody else before themselves.”
Pickens’ attitude is the main reason why he likely won’t have his contract extended this offseason before going into a contract year in 2025. His attitude issues have been a common theme during his tenure in Pittsburgh, and it can affect his play. Pickens seemed frustrated with a lack of early touches in Pittsburgh’s Week 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024, and it seemed to affect his game as he had three drops in a critical game for the Steelers.
The Steelers have dealt with temperamental wide receivers well, but it can certainly be a hindrance to winning when the team has to devote energy to keeping Pickens in the game and making sure he stays even-keeled. It’s not a surprise that somebody who played for no-nonsense teams under Chuck Noll like Blount wouldn’t love the way Pickens’ attitude has been a story and has affected the team over the last three years.
The onus is on the Steelers and Tomlin to figure out how to break their postseason drought and try to appease a fan base that has become increasingly disgruntled despite winning regular seasons. Blount knows what success is like in Pittsburgh, and the fans know what it’s like, so it’s frustrating for them not to live up to the standard that was set by players like Blount. A player like Pickens, who doesn’t always do what’s best for the team — he reportedly showed up late to the team’s Week 17 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, as an example — makes it even more frustrating for a franchise great who would do anything in the pursuit of winning, so it’s easy to see where Mel Blount is coming from.
