The Pittsburgh Steelers’ radio booth has undergone significant changes recently.
Last year, Rob King replaced longtime play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove. This year, a new color commentator will join the Steelers Audio Network. Former Pittsburgh offensive lineman Max Starks will work alongside King. Starks takes over for Craig Wolfley, who died in March at the age of 66.
Starks is a familiar voice. The two-time Super Bowl champion has been a part of the Steelers Audio Network since 2021, having most recently served as its sideline reporter. He will make his regular-season debut when the Steelers visit the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.
We caught up with Starks to discuss his new role, its challenges, and the outlook for these Steelers.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: Will you be nervous for your debut?
Max Starks: “The good thing is that I’ve had some great opportunities to call games for ESPN and also for Stadium Sports. It seems you get a little bit more nervous about doing a random assignment in college or at another company. But when you work for the Steelers, yeah, there’s a certain level of expectation that you put on yourself just because you know what the standard is. You’ve seen it from my perspective for the better part of 20-plus years. Two guys manning that station, and you’re stepping into that role. There’s going to be a little bit of nervous excitement early on in the game.”
Is it going to be difficult replacing Craig Wolfley?
“There are people who are going to miss Craig. And listen, I miss him every day. Every time I wonder, when I step into the booth, can I measure up? I know that Craig was a devout Christian. He was a great man. If you come into it honestly and you come with an approach that you don’t know everything, you keep God first in this, and know that there’s always going to be people who are going to be unhappy. But as long as you know in your heart that you’re doing the right thing and that you’re giving it your best shot, that’s all you can ask for. I think Craig taught me that.”
.@maxstarks78‘s journey from football to color commentator for the Steelers Audio Network was featured in the new episode of ‘The Standard’.@hyundai | Watch more ⬇️
— SteelersNationRadio (@SteelersNRadio) September 5, 2025
How have you and Rob King tried to develop chemistry?
“We have a daily show together, so we’ve been working together since training camp. We’ve picked up on our cadence, our habits. When it’s just a dramatic pause versus the ending of a statement. That’s always the biggest part, where people mess up when they’re first starting as a play-by-play and color analyst for the first time. You think they’re not talking, then you speed up and talk to fill the void. We’ve had that time and opportunity to troubleshoot on a daily radio show.”
Did you always know that you wanted to be a broadcaster?
“I had an inkling about midway through my career. I realized that it was a possibility because I enjoyed teaching. My mother was a teacher. My grandmother was a teacher. I look at broadcasting as a way of teaching. You get an opportunity to have this platform where you can inform people on things they may not know, and you can hopefully teach them.”
What are reasonable first-game expectations for Aaron Rodgers?
“The biggest thing for Aaron is going to be feeling calm, not feeling like he has nervous feet in the pocket. He doesn’t feel rushed. He doesn’t feel like he has to over-communicate with guys. When you don’t play in the preseason, you’re not going to throw for 400 yards in the first game. I think it’s a building process because you haven’t gone through live-game reps with your teammates yet. For him, it’s going to be all about efficiency.”
“He has a control because he has that caché, but he also does not abuse that power. He utilizes it to lift everybody else up around him.”@maxstarks78 on Aaron Rodgers’ early impact at Steelers camp. pic.twitter.com/v4k70qAX35
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 7, 2025
What are reasonable first-game expectations for DK Metcalf?
“We looked at what CeeDee Lamb did. He got 13 targets. That was a lion’s share. I think for DK, I would imagine he would get at least eight to ten targets in this game. I think the reasonable expectation is for him to be somewhere in the 80-yard-plus receiving in this contest. Then, I think the rest gets distributed throughout our tight ends and our running backs.”
What are reasonable expectations for the Steelers this season?
“I think every fan would be lying if they didn’t say at least one playoff victory, to kind of clear that drought from 2016 and show that this team has made that progress. We’ve shown that we can make the playoffs over the last two years, but it’s always an early exit. It’s always an ugly loss. So I think, a wild card or a divisional round, depending on how well we do, that first round that they play in the playoff, and having a victory, I think, is what everybody would agree is probably a great margin for success. It also shows you’re growing in the right direction.”
The Steelers made some atypical moves in the offseason, leading to speculation that this might be Mike Tomlin’s last year as head coach. What do you think?
“No, I think Coach Tomlin has a calm about himself and he knows who he is. He knows who his team is. He knows what his organization is. I don’t think he’s done anything differently. I think this is more of a reflection of Omar Khan putting his stamp on the team and evolving with the way the NFL is now.”
“The success of the team and the success of the offense is going to depend on those five guys up front and how well they mesh.”@maxstarks78 on the importance of the Steelers offensive line protecting Aaron Rodgers. pic.twitter.com/zHaXSJoHQ0
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 7, 2025
So, you don’t see these moves as drastic?
“I think you have to reflect on what the entire ecosystem of the NFL is. I think this is just a reflection of that, being proactive, as opposed to being late to the party and trying to make those moves. The big tenet is drafting soundly and getting guys in who can immediately help you and guys under rookie contracts for as long as possible.
“You realize now you have to supplement more with free agency because you don’t want to get caught in the situation the Steelers have been burned in the past. You think of the Stephon Tuitt retirement early, Ryan Shazier injury, and being caught without experience at certain positions.”
What guys did you play against where you knew it was going to be a long day?
“Clay Matthews was one of those guys I put on that list. I would also add a guy that I knew I had to bring my A game every time I saw him: Terrell Suggs with the Ravens. That was always going to be a bloodbath.”