The Steel Curtain Collapses

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for their historic success and for winning Super Bowls. But recently, the famous Steel Wall has collapsed. Playoff success came to a halt, disappointing fans year after year.

On paper, the Steelers have looked like a good team for the past 10 years, having a record above .500 every single season per StatMuse. These records would be more than amazing for most teams in the NFL. Regardless of these records, playoff success has been minimal to none, with their last playoff win being in 2017 against the Kansas City Chiefs, per StatMuse.Since then, the Steelers have been the laughing stock of the NFL when it comes to being known as first-round exits.

Many Steelers fans get their hopes up every single season, due to big name signings with the season looking like it could produce playoff success, or even a Super Bowl win. Especially in recent years, with this previous NFL season as an example. Big names like Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, and Kenneth Gainwell. Fans, including myself, were confident this season would be different. Even with these key players, the production level hasn’t gotten any better, with the same result every single season.

The graph above (not scientific) shows the result of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ seasons and how us fans view it. The Steelers seem to have the talent on our team to make a deep playoff run, but they never seem to. One of these reasons, I believe, is the head coach, Mike Tomlin.

Coach Tomlin is regarded as one of the best coaches in Steelers history, and even all-time. I do believe Tomlin is a great coach, but his ways as a coach is outdated. The “Tomlin Standard” is a term used by me and lots of other Steelers fans referring to the standard of being above .500 every season, but not doing anything in the post-season.

Something I’ve noticed as well is that Mike Tomlin never has to worry about his job; his assistant coaches never rival his position. I believe this gave Tomlin the idea that the Steelers were his team and only his. Other NFL teams constantly have head coaches swapped in and out for their offensive and defensive coordinators, but never Tomlin.

The picture above shows me, a Steelers fan, after the rough Wild Card loss to the Texans. Every Steelers fan can relate to this picture, year after year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have become the Dallas Cowboys of the AFC. Heartbreak is inevitable for Steelers fans like me. The Steel Curtain we once knew has become a fragment of our imagination.

The ongoing cycle of disappointment of Steelers fans is taking a toll on the fanbase, especially those who grew up watching how great the Steelers could be.

Steelers fans like me aren’t asking for perfection, just a bit of progress. I don’t expect a Super Bowl win, but we need a bit of progress to lighten up our future. Tomlin’s firing is maybe a hope of a better future. Steelers fans can’t hold on to the past forever; we need to think of our future.