Will an atypical “offseason” for the Steelers lead to big results?

On Wednesday of this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski for my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast. I know some of you, as Pittsburgh fans, may consider that an act of betrayal to our beloved Steelers. But I give you my word, I’m as loyal as ever to the Black and Gold. Still, as both a content creator and a football coach, the opportunity to interview a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, no matter which team he represents, was too good to turn down.

My conversation with Coach Stefanski centered on how the NFL season never really ends. Cleveland wrapped its 2024 campaign on January 4 of this year with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. When I asked Coach Stefanski when preparations for the 2025 season began, he answered, “The next day.” As all 32 teams head to training camp next week, many see this as the beginning of a new season. For those on the inside, however, that season has long been underway.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have conducted their business so far in atypical fashion. One Super Bowl-winning quarterback was shown the door, while another, after a prolonged courtship, was welcomed into the fold. A troubled but talented wide receiver was shipped off, while an equally talented and (gratefully) less troubled one was signed to a lucrative contract. A franchise cornerstone on defense was moved in a stunning trade, while a future Hall-of-Famer was acquired in return. When all was said and done, the team’s leading rusher, passer, and receiver from a year ago, as well as its leader in interceptions over the past six seasons, all departed. In return, names like Rodgers, Metcalf, Slay, Ramsey and Smith arrived. It was a stunning flurry of activity involving headline-grabbing names for a franchise that often toils in obscurity from February through July.

What changed for the Steelers? Why did it go down this way?

In talking with Coach Stefanski, one thing he emphasized was the importance of self-scouting at the professional level. Teams begin that process almost immediately once a season officially ends. It’s important to take an immediate dive into the strengths and weaknesses of a team’s schemes, coaches, and player personnel because the new season arrives so quickly. The NFL Combine is in late February, the free agency period opens in early March, and the draft is in late April. With the regular season ending in January, and the Super Bowl not wrapping until a month later, the window in which teams have to self-evaluate is tiny.

My guess is that this year, when the Steelers started that process, they realized they weren’t good enough to compete with the best teams in the AFC. If they wanted to get there, they’d have to change their approach. What did the staff see in their self-scout that convinced them a major overhaul was necessary? Probably, something like this:

They saw a pair of flawed quarterbacks, neither of whom they believed was good enough in which to invest franchise money. Russell Wilson was old and limited. He threw a great deep ball, but his habit of staring down a first read in his progression and then immediately checking to an outlet receiver made him easy to defend. Meanwhile, Justin Fields offered a dynamic skill set as an off-platform player, but was limited in his ability to operate from the pocket. If Fields had been willing to sign a team-friendly deal, the Steelers would have bitten. But when New York offered him more money than Pittsburgh wanted to pay, they decided to move on.

To what, exactly? Or rather, to whom? The more you read, the more it seems they really liked Matthew Stafford, and tried hard to acquire him in a trade. But his wife was not leaving southern California, and the Rams wanted a ransom to move him, so that inquiry died. Pittsburgh then kicked the tires on Sam Darnold in free agency, and was linked to a few others along the rumor mill. Ultimately, though, with their eyes on a quarterback in the 2026 draft, a one-year deal with Aaron Rodgers, and an opportunity to swing for the fences, made sense.

What else did the Steelers see? They saw an explosive receiver in George Pickens. Explosive, unfortunately, in more ways than one. I don’t know if moving on from Pickens was always the plan once they acquired DK Metcalf, but when they found a willing trade partner in Dallas, they didn’t hesitate. Metcalf would play the Pickens role as the team’s field stretcher and deep-ball threat, with a more complete route tree to make him more accessible. The locker room would benefit from a little addition by subtraction.

At running back, they saw a between-the-tackles workhorse in Najee Harris who, while durable, was a poor fit for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s favorite concept, the wide zone play. Harris was allowed to walk, and the team deftly navigated the tricky waters of the NFL draft to land a better fit in Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson.

How about the other side of the football? What did they see there which led them to move on from Minkah Fitzpatrick? Likely, a player whose role in the team’s defensive scheme was no longer as integral as it once had been, and that paying him $18 million a season to be a glorified centerfielder was a poor investment of their money. In Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay, the Steelers acquired two veterans who fit the “win-now” mentality they’ve adopted for 2025. Both are major upgrades from what Pittsburgh had at slot and outside corner last season, and both have short shelf lives on the remainder of their playing careers. The acquisition of Jonnu Smith in the Fitzpatrick trade is probably what sealed the deal. But swapping Fitzpatrick for Ramsey spoke volumes about where they believed their deficiencies on defense existed.

Another thing they undoubtedly saw was Baltimore parting their defense like the Red Sea in January’s playoff loss. Their front was manhandled, and their linebackers couldn’t make plays because of the bodies being deposited in their laps. That embarrassment likely provoked the decision to take talented defensive tackle Derrick Harmon with their top overall selection in April’s draft.

And finally, the Steelers saw enough from TJ Watt last season, even though it wasn’t one of his best, to lock him up presumably for the rest of his career. The exact details of the deal are not finalized as I write this, but as of Thursday afternoon Pittsburgh had agreed to a contract extension with Watt that will extend him through 2028 and will pay him in the neighborhood of $41 million per year, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

None of this is how the Steelers have typically operated in the months preceding training camp.

Pittsburgh’s self-evaluation process, conducted back in January, revealed the weaknesses the Steelers needed to fortify. They didn’t know how they’d do it at the time, but they’ve spent the past six months making one bold move after another to get it done. After eight straight seasons without a playoff win, it was decided the way they’d been doing things in the so-called “off-season” wasn’t producing the desired results. Whether changing their ways yields better results remains to be seen. But the process has been encouraging. The NFL season never really ends. And this year, Pittsburgh’s urgency to win is apparent.

For my interview with Coach Stefanski, click the player below. And for more of my work, follow me on X @KTSmithFFSN, and tune in to my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast every Monday-Friday on all major platforms.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3djW7HIGGgvscLMmwHuJiw?si=QDZlP2VVQ7C7zc0J6Ro7jg