Ben Roethlisberger has repeatedly proven that he has no issue criticizing any part of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. In the latest episode of his Footbahlin Podcast, Roethlisberger called out Steelers owner Art Rooney II.
Roethlisberger told his audience that the Steelers “absolutely” have “a lot of room” for expanding their coaching staff. But the former quarterback implied the team won’t do that because it costs money.
“Expand the strength and conditioning staff; expand the training staff. Expand equipment staff, all that stuff. But that’s money,” Roethlisberger said. “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.”
As a former Steelers player for 18 years, Roethlisberger may be very familiar with the Rooneys and their saving-money approach. But among fans, that’s a narrative far more popular with the city’s baseball team than the Steelers.
Art Rooney II’s “small town” philosophy with the team’s coaching staff, travel arrangements and other amenities, though, have come under the microscope more often in recent years.
Ravens Add Former Head Coach to Coaching Staff
Roethlisberger’s comments came on the heels of the Baltimore Ravens announcing the addition of former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano to their coaching staff on January 28. Pagano will serve as Baltimore’s senior secondary coach, which was a position they didn’t previously have.
Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders reported the Ravens now have 12 defensive assistants on their coaching staff. The Steelers have seven, none of which have been a defensive coordinator or head coach other than their current DC Teryl Austin.
But in recent years, the size and quality of the Steelers coaching staff isn’t the only point of contention around Rooney.
In the 2024 NFLPA survey, the Steelers received a C grade or worse in weight room, training room, locker room and treatment of families, which included things such as availability of daycare on game days and during practices. The Steelers received an F grade in the last two categories.
Rooney addressed the team’s coaching staff size on January 27, saying that he doesn’t believe it’s holding the organization back in the postseason.
A bigger coaching staff may not directly lead to more playoff success. But Roethlisberger suggested it’s an area for improvement, so it’s likely to be an important topic to at least some Steelers fans going forward.
Steelers Not Making Coaching Changes Because of Money?
Roethlisberger made no connection between Rooney’s potential cheapness and the team’s current smaller than average coaching staff. But it’s difficult to not connect the dots after the former quarterback’s point.
During his post-season press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin stressed the organization would likely see significant change this offseason. But Tomlin is returning, and Rooney all but confirmed coordinators Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin will be back too.
The Steelers could make changes at quarterback as they did last season, but Rooney told reporters on January 27 that he’d prefer either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields return.
General manager Omar Khan’s job has never been in doubt (and it shouldn’t have been) this offseason. So, it begs to question, where will the Steelers make their significant changes?
There’s another layer to that question which Roethlisberger, unintentionally or not, unpeeled. Are the Steelers keeping the status quo on their coaching staff to save money?
Tomlin signed a contract extension through the 2027 season last summer. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported on January 27 that Smith and Austin are under contract for 2025.
The Steelers famously do not fire coaches. That’s gained them a great reputation in the league for being an employee-friendly organization.
But in more recent years, it has also resulted in the team retaining coaches too long. The best example of that is offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Despite calls to fire Canada after 2022, the Steelers kept him as OC in 2023, only to fire him midseason during Kenny Pickett’s disappointing second year.
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