Tomlin given a vote of confidence

Steelers president Art Rooney II reiterated his confidence in coach Mike Tomlin despite another late-season collapse and early playoff exit but said it’s apparent his team is not at the same level as the best teams in the league.

Rooney said the “biggest piece of the puzzle” heading into the offseason is determining what to do at quarterback, where both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are unrestricted free agents.

“We got to figure out what to do better,” Rooney said Monday during his annual season-ending press conference with Steelers reporters. “Mike knows what the goal is. He’s as disappointed as I am.”

One year after he indicated he was impatient and said it was time to start winning playoff games, the Steelers failed to heed their owner’s directive and lost their sixth postseason game in a row, tied for the longest active streak in the league. They have not won a playoff game in eight years, the franchise’s longest drought since 1972.

“After losing five in a row [to end the season], it’s hard to say we’re any closer,” Rooney said.

Despite outcries from the fan base about Tomlin’s failures to win a playoff game, Rooney said he is committed to his coach, who will enter his 19th season in 2025. Rooney gave Tomlin a three-year, $50 million extension in June that will keep him through the 2027 season.

“When you look at how many games Mike has won in this league [183, 12th all time], you don’t win that many games if you’re not a good coach,” Rooney said. “I know he’s frustrated — like we all are — in terms of not being able to take that next step.

“But we still feel good about him being a good leader. When you got a good coach, you try to keep him in place. When I talk to the players, they still want to play for Mike.”

The Steelers have lost three consecutive games in December in four of the past five seasons — five of the past seven after Thanksgiving — most recently when losses to the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs spoiled their 10-3 start and cost them their two-game lead in the AFC North.

That streak eventually reached five consecutive games, including the playoff loss in Baltimore — the first time since Chuck Noll’s first season in 1969 the Steelers ended the season with five consecutive losses.

“It’s not what we expected, especially after getting off to a good start.” Rooney said. “So we have a lot of work to do to improve going into next season. We just have to keep building a stronger roster.

“We played the best teams in the league and, obviously, we could see we’re not there. We need to do what we need to do to take the next step.”

And that is deciding who will be their quarterback next season — Wilson or Fields.

While Rooney said he “isn’t closing the door” on the possibility, he said it is unlikely both players will be brought back in 2025. It is the third time in the past four years the Steelers enter the postseason with uncertainty at quarterback.

“I think both of them see themselves as starters and I don’t know that they want to share the job again,” Rooney said. “So I would say most likely we don’t wind up bringing them both back.”

Rooney said he believes the quarterback room should have two players with same skill set and not as diverse as what they had with Wilson, a 36-year-old pocket passer, and the mobile, athletic Fields.

“I would like to see us go into the quarterback room with two quarterbacks who can run the same system,” Rooney said.

Tomlin has yet to make any changes to his coaching staff despite the way the season ended. Rooney said a chunk of the coaching staff is already in place, meaning those who are under contract. But he said changes will be forthcoming.

Among those under contract are both coordinators — Teryl Austin and Arthur Smith — and offensive line coach Pat Meyer.

“I don’t expect wholesale changes, but I think there are going to be a couple changes,” Rooney said.

Asked if those changes could include coaches who are under contract, he said, “That’s still kind of the process we’re going through.”