Art Rooney II doesn’t need to listen to talk radio or read newspaper columns to understand the frustration surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers after their latest collapse.
All the team’s owner has to do is turn on his computer and check his email.
“My inbox has been pretty full lately,” Rooney II said Monday. “I have a sense.”
Anger and disappointment have reached an apex since the Steelers failed to win a playoff game for the eighth consecutive season. The latest first-round exit — the Steelers’ fifth since 2016 — came after the team lost four games in a row to end of the regular season.
“Look, I share their frustration,” Rooney said during a sitdown with select media members, including TribLive. “I was very disappointed with the way we ended the season. I understand that. I understand why people are mad. All I can say is actions speak louder than words, and we’ve got to be better.”
A year ago, after the Steelers also finished with a 10-7 record, Rooney echoed similar words and said he was losing patience with the lack of playoff wins.
“I’m still impatient,” he said. “I’m disappointed with the way we finished. It’s hard to get over a five-game losing streak to end the season.”
Until the losing streak, the Steelers had a 10-3 record and were in control of first place in the AFC North. But their fade led them to settling for a wild-card berth and opening on the road in the playoffs for their third consecutive trip to the postseason. They were dominated by the Baltimore Ravens, falling behind by 21 points en route to a 28-14 defeat.
Asked whether he believes the Steelers are any closer to getting over the postseason hump, Rooney said, “It’s hard to say. After losing five in a row, it’s hard to say we’re closer.”
Within an 11-day span, the Steelers lost to the two teams that will compete in Super Bowl LIX — the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs — while also dropping a game at Baltimore. Those three losses were by a combined 50 points.
“We just have to keep building a strong roster,” he said. “We got to play the cream of the crop, that three-game stretch, the Christmas tournament, if you will. We played the best teams in the league and obviously could see we’re not there.”
Rooney gave coach Mike Tomlin a contract extension last offseason that runs for three more seasons. The 2025 season will be Tomlin’s 19th with the Steelers, and Rooney hasn’t seen a reason to make a change.
“When you look at how many games Mike has won in this league, you don’t win that many games if you’re not a good coach,” he said. “I know he’s frustrated like we all are in terms of not being able to take that next step. We still feel good about him being our leader.”
Two weeks after the season ended, the Steelers have not announced any changes to Tomlin’s coaching staff, but Rooney said not every assistant will be retained. The organization is deciding whether to offer contracts to assistants whose deals are expiring, and Rooney didn’t discount replacing coaches who have contracts for 2025.
“I don’t expect wholesale changes,” he said, “but there will be a couple changes.”