Pittsburgh’s season has spiraled from a promising 4-1 start to a tense 6-6 reality, and the fallout has engulfed the entire franchise. The 26-7 loss to the Bills became a flashpoint, igniting one of the loudest waves of
“Fire Tomlin” chants ever heard inside Acrisure Stadium. For two straight days afterward, team president Art Rooney II held private, behind-closed-doors meetings with Mike Tomlin, signaling the gravity of the moment as frustration surges across Pittsburgh.
In the locker room, several players pushed back hard on calls for Tomlin’s firing. Rookie EDGE Jack Sawyer delivered the strongest defense, blasting the criticism head-on. “You’re frustrated because that’s bullshit when people are saying that,”
Sawyer told reporters. He added that the team’s problems had nothing to do with coaching and everything to do with execution.
Aaron Rodgers, who chose Pittsburgh partly because of Tomlin, backed his coach publicly after the Bills loss. He reportedly
“went to bat” for Tomlin in the locker room, telling teammates the organization was lucky to have him. Rodgers echoed Sawyer’s sentiment, insisting fans had every right to voice displeasure but the team must block out the outside noise.
Tomlin addressed the chants himself after the game, showing a mix of candor and accountability. “Man, I share their frustration tonight. We didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality of it,”
he said. Two days later, after having time to reflect, he expanded on his stance: “Football is our game. We’re in the sport entertainment business. And if you root for the Steelers, entertaining you is winning. So when you’re not winning, it’s not entertaining. I respect that. Winning is what makes this thing go.”
The mounting criticism has also fueled national discussion. ESPN’s Ian Rapoport shut down all speculation of Tomlin being fired, calling even the idea absurd. “Even discussing firing Mike Tomlin is completely ridiculous,”
Rapoport said. “He’s one of the best coaches in the NFL. If he ever became available, he’d be snatched up in literally a matter of no time. I don’t see any circumstances where Art Rooney fires Mike Tomlin.”
Rapoport emphasized that coaching trades are extremely rare and that Tomlin would be able to block any such move. He added that if Tomlin is not coaching the Steelers in 2026, it would only be because
Tomlin himself decides to step away, a scenario Rapoport called “a major surprise.” Rooney’s recent actions appear to support that view, as the back-to-back private meetings reportedly focused on stabilizing the team, not replacing the coach.
Not everyone around the league believes Tomlin will stay in Pittsburgh long-term. During Monday Night Countdown, ESPN analyst Marcus Spears made headlines by saying Tomlin would thrive as the next head coach of the New York Giants if the Steelers move on.
“If the Steelers are moving away from Mike Tomlin, Joe Schoen should hire him immediately. He understands organization, structure, leadership. He’d be perfect for the Giants,” Spears said.
Still, the criticism remains sharp. The Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2016 and are just 6-11 in their last 17 outings. For many fans, that prolonged stagnation outweighs Tomlin’s streak of never having a losing season, a fact some were surprised to learn even existed. Add in the struggles against Baltimore and the reality of an AFC North tightening each year, and the tension across Pittsburgh continues to climb.
Yet despite the noise, Tomlin remains firm, insisting he understands both the anger and expectations. “I know how restless and frustrated I was, so I assume they were in the same state we were in,”
he said. His visible sideline frustration against the Bills showed how deeply the struggles have hit even him.
As the Steelers brace for a must-win matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, the franchise sits at a crossroads. The locker room stands behind its coach, the fanbase is sharply divided, and ownership has stepped in more directly than at any point in recent years. Whatever happens next, Pittsburgh is entering one of the most defining stretches of the Tomlin era, and the entire organization feels the weight of it.
Why Adam Thielen to Pittsburgh Makes Zero Sense… Unless the Steelers Are Hiding Something Big
Adam Thielen is a proven veteran, a technician, and one of the cleanest route-runners of the past decade. But for the Pittsburgh Steelers — a team that already invested heavily in DK Metcalf, Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin, and a TE-centric offense — claiming a
34-year-old wide receiver off waivers looked bizarre on the surface.
Until you dig deeper.
According to early whispers inside the building, this move has nothing to do with needing another receiver. Instead, it may be tied to something far more serious happening behind closed doors.
A staff member reportedly said:
“Thielen isn’t here to run faster. He’s here to make sure the others run the right routes.”
That one sentence instantly raised eyebrows across the fanbase.
Was the chaos between Aaron Rodgers and his pass-catchers — missed film sessions, wrong routes, miscommunications — worse than the public even knows?
Another AFC coach reacted to the move bluntly:
“If Rodgers trusts you, the Steelers will bring you in.”
It’s no secret that Rodgers has been visibly frustrated, calling out route mistakes and timing breakdowns after the Bills loss. Bringing in Thielen, a player universally praised for his discipline and football IQ, suddenly looks less random and more like a stabilization mission.
And then comes the real twist.
Someone inside the WR room is reportedly unhappy about the move — worried that his spot is now in jeopardy. No name was leaked, but the tension is described as “real.”
Combine that with mounting pressure on Mike Tomlin, back-to-back offensive collapses, and Rodgers demanding accountability… and Adam Thielen’s arrival starts to look a lot like Step 1 of a bigger shake-up.
This isn’t just a waiver claim.
It might be the first sign that the Steelers are preparing to fix the offense from the inside out, starting with the one thing collapsing the entire unit:
Route discipline.
Film room commitment.
Accountability.
Thielen brings all three.
And Pittsburgh clearly believes they need it right now.
