Steelers president: ‘It’s time to get some wins in the playoffs’

PITTSBURGH — With the Steelers’ last playoff win in 2016, Steelers owner and team president Art Rooney II acknowledged Monday there is a growing sense of urgency to end the drought. coming more and more intensely.

“We’ve had enough,” Rooney said. “It’s time to get some wins, it’s time to take the next steps.”

Looney expressed his support for head coach Mike Tomlin and said the next step for the leader was clear.

“I think the players are still responding to Mike, that’s No. 1,” Rooney said. “He still has the key traits we saw when we hired him. He can capture the attention of a group of 20-year-olds throughout the season and keep them fighting throughout.”

“So, I still feel good about Mike. Obviously, if I don’t do that, [we] Changes will be made, but if we didn’t think Mike could lead us to a championship, he wouldn’t be here, and that’s why he’s here. “

At his end-of-season press conference, Tomlin said he expected to reach an extension agreement in the offseason, although Looney did not disclose a specific timetable.

While Looney said he doesn’t necessarily see a change in Tomlin’s determination heading into the offseason, he acknowledged that everyone in the organization is nervous about improving the team beyond just making the playoffs.

“Certainly, there’s heart and determination there,” Rooney said of Tomlin. “I think I’ve said it before, I think all of us who have been around for a while are eager to take the next step – and become a little impatient – we need to see the kind of improvement that we all want to see. Mike Believe in that as much as anyone else in the building.”

Rooney said the key next step is improving the quality of his quarterback’s game. Although Looney expressed support for 2022 first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett, he acknowledged that Pickett must improve during the 2024 season.

“We’re still happy with Kenny Pickett and his future, but he knows he needs to work hard to take that next step,” Rooney said. “We’ve talked about that and I think one of the things we liked about Kenny’s career at Pitt was his hard work, he took a step forward every year. So, we’re looking for that to happen here.”

Pickett statistically regressed in his injury-plagued second season, and offensive coordinator Matt Canada was fired midseason. Like his rookie season, Pickett started 12 games, but his completion percentage dropped from 63% to 62% and his four-point rate dropped from 53.6 to 38.4. He also threw for just six touchdowns in 2023 and threw four interceptions.

Meanwhile, long-time backup Mason Rudolph gave the Steelers a taste of what a solid quarterback offense might look like over the final four games of the season, including a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. With Rudolph at quarterback, the Steelers averaged 24.5 points per game, well above their season average of 17.9 points per game.

Rudolph is a free agent, but like Tomlin, Looney has expressed a desire to bring Rudolph back to the team this offseason.

“I think he really showed what we’re capable of offensively and the personnel we have right now,” Looney said. “So that’s encouraging. I don’t know that we’ve seen [Rudolph’s] The ceiling is not there yet. We drafted him high for a reason and we felt like he was very capable, so I think we saw that. So, he might have some options, so the question is if he wants to come back and if we can make a deal to get him back.

“But that being said, I’m still happy with Kenny and his ability to develop.”

Figuring out the quarterback situation will be the first priority for the Steelers’ next offensive coordinator. Rooney said the team is recruiting this candidate “sooner rather than later.” The team has interviewed three candidates so far: former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jarrod Johnson.

“I think we already know what we want the Steelers offense to look like,” Looney said.

“Going from this, we have a certain lineup mix that leads to the fact that you can’t completely change your lineup overnight, so you have to have a coordinator who feels like they can work with that lineup and be successful.

“So, someone who believes in that, comes in and can work with this roster, follow the roster and some of the skill sets that we have to do the things that are already established here. I think that’s what we’re looking for.”