NFL insider predicts Steelers will pay the ultimate price after parting ways with Mike Tomlin in 2026
ESPN thinks change is coming to Pittsburgh, but in the worst way possible.
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get into the Mike McCarthy sweepstakes on their own accord. It was Mike Tomlin’s bombshell decision that sent owner Art Rooney and GM Omar Khan into the first head coaching search in nearly two decades in Pittsburgh.
The decision to ultimately hire Mike McCarthy did come down to Art Rooney, however. It was met with vitriol at the time, given that it felt forced since McCarthy wasn’t generating interest from other teams. The question now becomes, will Rooney and Khan be right, or will the Steelers flounder? ESPN has a clear stance.
ESPN predicts the Steelers to have a losing season for the first time in over 20 years in 2026
“The Steelers will have their first losing season since 2003. For a few years now, this roster has needed a more extensive rebuild than the team has been willing to undergo. For all the issues Steelers fans had with Mike Tomlin by the end of his tenure, there’s a good chance 2026 shows that he was actually holding things together in Pittsburgh.” – Dan Graziano, ESPN
There is truth to what Graziano is saying. The Steelers’ roster is hanging on by a thread in multiple areas. Outside of Joey Porter Jr. the secondary has few pieces that you can look at and say, “he’s a lock to be there beyond this season.”
The LB corps is quietly a major position group to watch this offseason. There are rumblings that Patrick Queen may have played his final snap in Pittsburgh. Given his contract, that’s not out of the realm of possibilities. The team tried Payton Wilson as a starter early in the season, but that simply didn’t work.
Then of course, there is what happens along the defensive line as Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt aren’t getting any younger. But the offense is the major concern. It seems like Aaron Rodgers is coming back, but what if he doesn’t? Kenny Gainwell might leave in free agency and the only proven asset in the WR corps who is under contract for 2026 is DK Metcalf.
Oh, and the Steelers could be back in the left tackle market, given the Broderick Jones situation.
So yes, this thing does have a chance to unravel, even if history tells us that it won’t.
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