Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been stuck in no man’s land at quarterback. They’ve gone down several different avenues trying to fix that, including drafting a guy in the first round, trading for a young player, and signing a veteran. This season, they’ve landed on Aaron Rodgers as their starter. However, he isn’t a long-term solution for the Steelers’ quarterback problem. Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch thinks that Mike Tomlin is at fault for Pittsburgh being in this position under center.
“He absolutely deserves all of the blame,” Batch said Friday on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike. “Why is because he hired Matt Canada. That was a disaster for three years. So now, you’re trying to rebuild off of that. You lost the quarterback that you drafted that could possibly fit in the Matt Canada offense with Kenny Pickett.
“You’re now on to your second quarterback in two years since you traded Kenny Pickett. You had Russell Wilson, Justin Fields last year, but now Aaron Rodgers [is] here. He understands that’s what comes with the territory because Steelers fans have been spoiled because Ben Roethlisberger was at the helm for 18 years.”
Batch is correct that having Canada as their offensive coordinator held the Steelers back in a lot of ways. He was with the team from 2021 to 2023, and the Steelers held onto him for too long. They likely kept him around because they didn’t want to give Pickett a second offensive coordinator in his second season, but that decision ended up being costly.
The Canada era in Pittsburgh was dreadful. While Pickett might never have been a franchise quarterback, you could argue that he never got a fair chance to succeed with the Steelers. Canada’s offense did him no favors, which probably hindered his development.
However, Tomlin might not deserve sole responsibility for the Steelers’ failures under center. He isn’t the only decision maker in that building. Kevin Colbert was their general manager during the 2022 draft, when they selected Pickett. Art Rooney II’s voice carries some weight as well.
Still, Tomlin seems as opposed to rebuilding as anyone can be. The Steelers probably should’ve been more proactive trying to find Roethlisberger’s successor before he retired. However, Tomlin wanted to continue fighting for a Super Bowl. That’s not anything necessarily wrong with that, but it has helped contribute to the situation Pittsburgh now finds itself in.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers can’t fix their quarterback problem with Tomlin as their coach. While Rodgers isn’t a long-term solution, the Steelers don’t seem to be without a plan for the future. They’re loaded up on draft capital next year, which could put them in a position to move up for a quarterback in the first round. Tomlin might deserve the blame for this mess, but he could help the Steelers get out of it, too.
Recommended for you