These aren’t your grandpa’s Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re hardly even Kevin Colbert’s anymore. On paper, Omar Khan and Chuck Noll might not have much in common. Noll was a player turned defensive-minded coach. Khan’s worked in front offices most of his life. Noll was old-school, Khan embraces new-age analytics. But they’ve both turned over the Steelers’ roster entering their fourth seasons on the job. Collections that feel hardly recognizable from what each inherited.
That’s not just a feeling, either. That’s the math. From 1969 to 1972, only 14 of Noll’s initial ’69 roster remained. From 2022 to 2025, Khan has one fewer. Just 13 are still around.
Two tables of the players remaining.
| Noll Holdovers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Terry Hanratty | OL Jon Kolb | OL Sam Davis | OL Ray Mansfield |
| OL Bruce Van Dyke | DL LC Greenwood | DL Joe Greene | DL Ben McGee |
| LB Andy Russell | LB Brian Stenger | P Bobby Walden | DB Lee Calland |
| DB Chuck Beatty | RB Warren Bankston |
| Khan Holdovers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Mason Rudolph | WR Calvin Austin III | K Chris Boswell | S Miles Killebrew |
| RB Jaylen Warren | C Ryan McCollum | EDGE Alex Highsmith | TE Connor Heyward |
| TE Pat Freiermuth | EDGE T.J. Watt | DL Isaiahh Loudermilk | DL Cam Heyward |
| LS Christian Kuntz |
A couple of caveats. Noll drafted his ’69 class with seven of those 14 names still sticking around: Hanratty, Kolb, Greenwood, Greene, Beatty, Stenger (undrafted), and Bankston. Khan did not draft the ’22 class, though four of those picks remain: Austin, Warren (undrafted), Connor Heyward, and Loudermilk.
In 2022, Austin began the year on injured reserve, while McCollum was added midway through training camp. Two additional Steelers from 2022 are now on Pittsburgh’s practice squad: CB James Pierre and EDGE DeMarvin Leal, but they weren’t counted because they aren’t part of the official gameday roster.
Getting out of the weeds, the point is roster turnover is massive. A modern-day NFL with its big-money contracts, salary cap, and bustling free agency lends itself to more player movement. But Khan has flipped over the roster in new and radical ways that haven’t been typical of the Steelers of the last two decades. A mass exodus of free agents, replacing over 10,000 snaps after a conventionally successful 10-win and playoff season. The type of year that, from afar, doesn’t scream “tear it down.” For the second-straight season, a completely rebuilt quarterback room. Blockbuster trades for WR DK Metcalf, CB Jalen Ramsey, and TE Jonnu Smith while shipping FS Minkah Fitzpatrick out of town.
The 2025 Steelers? They’re the Ship of Theseus. The same franchise, but rebuilt with so many pieces it’s hard to argue it’s still the same team.
Little about this roster is the same as it was a short time ago. Noll had a similar vision, understanding that big change was needed for big results. Their worlds were different, Noll trying to win with a team that never had, Khan trying to modernize the team and shift in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, but the results are eerily similar. Don’t bet on Khan building a dynasty, but he’s pursuing getting over the same hump Noll fought 55 years ago.
