NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II is getting tired of having his club watch the Super Bowl on TV.
Rooney would rather the Steelers be there in person on the field. And with the franchise riding a seven-year drought since its most recent postseason victory — the team’s longest gap between playoff wins since the 1970 merger — Rooney is getting antsy.
“I think all of us that have been around for a little while are anxious to take this next step and getting a little impatient and we need to see the kind of improvement we all want to see,” Rooney said on Monday.
Pittsburgh used a late-season surge to finish 10-7 and earn a wild-card berth before being quickly sent home in a first-round loss to Buffalo.
There was some speculation outside the building late in the season that longtime coach Mike Tomlin was entertaining taking a break, speculation Tomlin tamped down two weeks ago and Rooney dismissed during his season-ending news conference.
The Steelers and the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach are working on a contract extension that will keep Tomlin in town beyond the 2024 season.
“I think the players still respond to Mike and that’s No. 1,” Rooney said “He still has the key characteristics that we saw when we hired him. He can keep the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for a whole season and keep them in the fight for the whole way. So still feel good about Mike.”
Tomlin is 173-100-2 in 17 seasons with the Steelers and has never finished below .500. Yet Pittsburgh also hasn’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the divisional round after the 2016 season. The Steelers have dropped five straight playoff games, four by at least double digits.
“We’ve had enough of this, it’s time to get some wins, it’s time to take these next steps,” Rooney said.
Steps the Steelers will attempt to take in 2024 with — at least for now — Kenny Pickett at quarterback. Pickett struggled at times during his first full season as the starter and served as the backup…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/steelers-president-art-rooney-ii-believes-in-mike-tomlin-but-adds-its-time-to-get-some-wins
Author :
Publish date : 2024-01-29 23:26:28
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
