Art Rooney II, the president of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is sick of sitting on the couch watching the Super Bowl.
Rooney wants his troops to play, not merely watch from the sidelines. Rooney is under criticism because the Steelers are suffering from their longest postseason absence since the 1970 merger—a seven-year run.
For Rooney, there’s no doubt about his future: he supports head coach Mike Tomlin.
Rooney underlined, “The players still respond to Mike, and that’s No. 1.” “The essential qualities we observed in him at the time of his hiring remain with him. He has the ability to inspire a group of twentysomethings to fight through the whole season.
Thus, I continue to trust Mike. If I didn’t, we would adjust. Mike is here because we feel he can lead us to a championship; otherwise, he wouldn’t be here.
Tomlin stated at his news conference at the end of the season that he expected to work out an extension in the winter. Rooney did not, however, give a deadline for it.
Rooney recognized that everyone in the team is keen to go beyond simply making the playoffs, even if he didn’t see a shift in Tomlin’s resolve this offseason.
Rooney recognized that everyone in the team is keen to go beyond simply making the playoffs, even if he didn’t see a shift in Tomlin’s resolve this offseason.
Regarding Tomlin, Rooney remarked, “There’s a resolve and determination there, for sure.” As I’ve previously stated, I believe that those of us who have been here for a long are ready to move forward and are growing a little impatient. We also need to see the kind of progress that we are all hoping for. As strongly as everybody else in the building, Mike holds that belief.
Throughout his 17 seasons with the Steelers, Tomlin has a 173-100-2 record and has never had a losing year. But Pittsburgh hasn’t emerged victorious in a postseason match since 2016. Four of the Steelers’ five consecutive postseason losses have come by double digits.
Rooney declared, “We’ve had enough of this; it’s time to get some wins and take these next steps.”
With Kenny Pickett at quarterback, at least for the time being, the Steelers intend to achieve those kinds of advancements in 2024. In his first complete season as the starter, Pickett encountered difficulties; in the last two weeks, he filled in as the backup. Despite the setbacks, Rooney is upbeat about Pickett’s future, praising his dedication to his studies and his slow but steady advancement while attending the University of Pittsburgh.
“We continue to believe in Kenny Pickett and his abilities,” confirmed Rooney. But he is aware that in order to advance, he must work hard. As we’ve spoken about, one thing we liked about Kenny at Pitt was his consistent year-over-year progress and work ethic. Here, we anticipate the same thing.
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