A Letter From the Editor: I don’t blame Steelers fans for being exhausted

Since I started writing and podcasting about this team on a regular basis, which started in 2024, the one thing you always have to do is to keep your finger on the pulse of the fan base. When providing content, you have to know what fans are saying and thinking, and you have to adjust accordingly.

This doesn’t mean you always have to appease your fan base, but it does mean you have to be aware of the narratives which surround the team which you provide content.

Since the Steelers last Super Bowl appearance in 2010, there have been a strong portion of the fan base who started to sour on Mike Tomlin as the head coach. After 2016, that group got louder, and every year the team has been one-and-done in the playoffs, or missed the postseason entirely, the group didn’t get louder…it get larger.

For many, the finish to the 2024 season was the tipping point. They are beyond frustrated. In fact, some might call it exhausted. And I don’t blame anyone for feeling this way.

If I’m being completely honest with you, the reader, I had always been a person who believed Mike Tomlin was more of the answer than the problem. Not that he was perfect, we know that is far from the truth, but how other issues typically were more of the reason for the failures of the team.

But if you read the previous paragraph closely, you noticed I used “had” when referring to being someone who would defend Tomlin. Past tense. Meaning I don’t feel that way anymore. Again, in full honesty, I can’t defend the Steelers head coach anymore. Not after five straight losses to end the season. Not after the coaching staff continually fails to put their players in the best position to succeed. And not after any glaring issues on the roster can be directly linked back to, you guessed it, the head coach of the team.

I used to cringe at slogans like “Mediocre Mike” or “Teflon Tomlin”, but I get it now. I completely understand why fans are tired of the same old song and dance. The rinse and repeat nature of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2016.

Now, don’t take this as me suggesting I will always have a negative slant on my coverage of the team with Tomlin at the helm. I’m not saying that at all, but what I am suggesting is I can’t defend Tomlin anymore. I can’t be the one who suggests the Steelers fans aren’t being grateful for what they have. I can’t be the one who thinks Steelers fans need to look at the bigger picture.

The bigger picture is there are serious problems within the Steelers organization, and it starts at the very top.

I don’t blame any fans who need to step away from this toxic relationship and get some fresh air. To regroup in a way. It can be exhausting, and tiring.

I get it.

I think we all get it after the team fell on their faces down the stretch in 2024.

It’s downright exhausting.