After another disappointing loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, Steeler alumnus James Harrison absolutely ripped the team on his podcast. He called the defense just about everything in the book, and criticized both the effort from the players as well as the scheme itself. That’s caused quite a stir. Complaining about the Steelers isn’t anything new these days. But to have such a visceral reaction from such a notable voice is telling. To Jim Rome, it’s a sign that things are reaching a boiling point for Mike Tomlin’s team.
“He’s not wrong,” Rome said of Harrison’s reaction on Wednesday on his radio show. “They damn sure are not looking like the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not right now. And if they can’t win a playoff game, there damn well be some furniture moving around. What I don’t understand is why Tomlin would still be there if the bottom falls out on the season. The buck has got to stop with the head coach, right? Why wouldn’t it?… It’s just gotten way too toxic.”
The vibe in Pittsburgh isn’t great. After the loss, Patrick Queen appeared to point to the scheme as part of the reason the Steelers were torn apart. And the locker room was described as a defeated one after the loss by a beat reporter as well.
But it’s hard to feel differently when you’ve lost four of six, and now trail the Ravens in the division via a tiebreaker. Winning fixes everything, but the Steelers can’t build any consistency whatsoever. It only gets harder with matchups against Buffalo and Baltimore in the next two weeks. If the Steelers can’t win either of those games, they’ll be sitting at 6-7 and unlikely to make the postseason.
Rome doesn’t see them winning a playoff game this year either way. But that pessimism extends beyond the 2025 season as well.
“They have not won a playoff game in eight years. It does not look like they’re going to win one anytime soon. The fans are sick and tired of being stuck in the same mediocre place. Simply put, they’re not the Steelers anymore,” Rome said.
The idea of moving on from Mike Tomlin is far from new. It’s one that many Steelers fans have been campaigning for the last couple of seasons. And the frustration is understandable as the Steelers continue to fade into football obscurity.
Yet, as has been repeated time and time again, Tomlin likely won’t be going anywhere after this season. The Steelers never move on from a coach with two years left on his contract, let alone the head coach.
However, this season has a more intense feel than most. It’s not often that former Steelers come out and blast the team the way James Harrison did this week. The organization isn’t going to bat much of an eye at a frustrated fan base calling for change. But when someone of Harrison’s magnitude speaks out like that, those words will be heard by those in the building.
There’s still a lot of time left this year. And the Steelers are still tied with the Ravens for the division lead at 6-5. They have their chances to turn it around. This week’s opponent, the Buffalo Bills, offers an opportunity for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers to quiet the noise for a little while.
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