Ben Roethlisberger calls out the Steelers for early warning signs of franchise debilitating decision in Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers, like every other team in the NFL, received over $400m in 2023, from the league alone. Far from strapped for cash, the Steelers could sell tomorrow for the largest acquisition in the history of sports. Yet, for Art Rooney and the Steelers brass, pumping some money into the coaching staff is apparently […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers, like every other team in the NFL, received over $400m in 2023, from the league alone.
Far from strapped for cash, the Steelers could sell tomorrow for the largest acquisition in the history of sports.
Yet, for Art Rooney and the Steelers brass, pumping some money into the coaching staff is apparently too costly, and according to Ben Roethlisberger, it could be costing them what's even more important…
Ben Roethlisberger doesn't like Steelers coaching spending…
"Absolutely. There's a lot of room for that," Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast when asked about an expansion of one of the league's smallest coaching staffs. "Expand the strength and conditioning staff. Expand the training staff. Expand equipment staff, all that stuff. But that's money and we all know that the Rooneys aren't putting a lot of extra into that stuff. That's just, they've never done it that way. So we don't expect that to change…
“…I remember sitting in a quarterback meeting room at the Pro Bowl and you had the quarterback coach and there were two or three other coaches in there. And I'm like, they're coaches. This is unbelievable. And so I think there's definitely room for that, but the team has to decide they want to do that."
Some might be wondering how more cooks in the kitchen could be a smart idea, but you have to think of it as more brainpower. The Steelers have to be able to get over the hump in 2025, but they have shown no urgency in doing so.
No changes on the coaching staff have been made and according to Mr. Rooney himself, that's unlikely to be the case, or at least when it comes to subtracting coordinators.
So what about addition? Well, that costs money, and unlike player acquisition, that part is not done through a salary cap. It comes from the owner's pocketbook and the Rooney's tend to not want to open it.
But it's time to change that. How Art Rooney can say he shares the frustrations of the fans yet makes no meaningful change is beyond me, and at this point, it's just lip service and more broken promises.
Only this time, it could end up costing the Steelers and Mike Tomlin in a major way in 2025.
