Could the Steelers benefit from a more business approach to running the team?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been known for their tight-knit, family environment which has helped separate them from the rest of the NFL for a long time. But this offseason things have started to shift, and some fans are wondering what the new direction of the team might be with Omar Khan at the helm.

Are they getting away from the family approach and moving more into a business approach to running the team?

Recently on my “Let’s Ride” podcast, which can be heard at the bottom of this article, I had a listener reach out and state their concern over the fact they felt the team didn’t care as much about the individual players as they once did. It made the think about not just moving away from the family approach, but if the business approach is as bad as many believe it might be.

There are pros and cons to every approach when running any type of entity. Sometimes when you worry so much about the individuals within the organization, nostalgia and loyalty can get in the way of the bottom line being met. Likewise, when the bottom line is the only thing which is concerned, the human element of running an organization can be left by the wayside.

Anyone who follows the Steelers in any way knows how different this offseason has been, but does it signal a systemic change in the way they are doing things? I think it shows a willingness to think outside the box, but I don’t believe the current state of affairs points to a seismic shift in how the Steelers handle their day-to-day affairs.

Yes, the trade of George Pickens and Minkah Fitzpatrick out of Pittsburgh was shocking. Equally as shocking to some was the trade with the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf. Go back even further to the 2023 offseason, and trading Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles was startling to a lot of people. Fans of the black-and-gold are not used to these type of moves being made. Throw in the team letting players like Najee Harris walk in free agency, and it is natural to wonder if Khan is running the team as a harsh businessman, and not one who cares about the team aspect of roster development.

If someone wanted to stand on that hill, you wouldn’t find much of a disagreement from me. You would absolutely have plenty of fodder to support your theory. However, I’m not on that hill and screaming the team is changing dramatically. Instead, I believe Khan is starting to transition a business-like approach to what the Steelers do historically.

Let’s use the T.J. Watt contract situation as an example. Watt will get paid in a big way, unless he and his representation choose to move on and either play in the final year of the current contract or request a trade, and when they do come to terms on a new deal what will the response be?

If/when Watt gets $40 million on average, will fans say they aren’t sticking by the core players on the team? Will they say the team is abandoning the very principles which made them the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Ultimately, the Steelers are trying to rebuild the nucleus of the team, and to do so they need players who fit that mold. How you feel about some players doesn’t matter, but the Steelers clearly didn’t think Pickens and Harris were players who fit what they wanted to build. Instead, they gave the money to players like Pat Freiermuth, DK Metcalf, Cam Heyward and eventually T.J. Watt. Players they believe can get the culture back to what we, the fans, saw for almost a decade in the early 2000s.

Will it work out? We’ll get to see soon enough, but one thing is for sure, putting a little business into the Steelers overall approach isn’t a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t become the only thing.

To hear the Wednesday “Let’s Ride” podcast covering this topic, check out the player below: