Mueller: Rooney has many questions to answer in pivotal offseason

At some point in the reasonably near future, Steelers owner Art Rooney II will meet with the media for his annual end-of-season address, which functions as a “State of the Steelers” address.

His franchise hasn’t faced an offseason as uncertain as this one in almost 20 years, and while I’m sure Rooney realizes that, I wonder how much it resonates with him.

It’s no secret that Rooney is not a “football man” like his father Dan was. He cuts a more business-oriented profile. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, either. No one’s asking him to be knee-deep in personnel decisions, even though he still has final say in all matters concerning the franchise.

In case he hasn’t noticed, though, business isn’t exactly booming. The thousands of no-shows at Heinz Field this year are a good indication. Steelers fans might be hyper-loyal, but they aren’t stupid.

They see what’s happening to the team, and in the division. Does the owner? I won’t be in the room asking the questions, but here are a few I’d love to hear the answer to:

“Art, after the 2020 season, you said, ‘I think everybody in the building agrees that you can’t finish 32nd in the league in rushing and feel you’re going to have a successful season.’ This year, the team finished 29thin the league in yards per carry and averaged about 10 more yards rushing per game. How would you evaluate the moves that were made to shore up that area of the team?”

“Art, when Matt Canada was promoted to offensive coordinator after last season, you said, ‘Matt was our internal candidate that we knew very well, and Mike [Tomlin] interviewed a couple of other coaches he felt good about, felt they were good candidates, and they were. But at the end of the day he felt like Matt was the best fit for us.’ Do you still agree that Matt is the best fit for the team after watching his offense, and if so, why?”

“Art, how happy are you with Mike’s hiring practices as it pertains to his assistants, and do you feel like the team allocates enough resources toward the goal of assembling the best staff possible?”

“Art, did Mike call the defensive plays on game day this year, and if so, are you comfortable with him continuing to do so moving forward?”

“Art, are you comfortable entering next season with Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins as the top two quarterbacks on your roster? If so, what about one or both men gives you confidence?”

“Art, the team has not won a playoff game in five full seasons, the longest drought for the franchise since the AFL-NFL merger. What do you feel is the primary reason for this, and what do you plan to do to fix it?”

“Art, the Bengals won the division, and Joe Burrow is one of the league’s up-and-coming quarterbacks. All three teams in the division have won a playoff game more recently than the Steelers. What, in your opinion, must be done to stay competitive in the AFC North for the foreseeable future?”

I have more questions, but straight answers to any of those would be a nice start. Rooney’s words after last season’s humiliating flameout against the Browns struck a balance between focusing on the team’s 11-0 start and acknowledging their putrid finish.

The situation has only gotten worse since then. Cincinnati really is loaded, and by the time you read this, they may have punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game. Burrow looks for all the world like the kind of player who could reign supreme over the division for the next decade, and erase the “Bungles” nickname from existence.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens had an inarguably down year, complete with a rancid finish that saw them lose their final six games, but they’ve already started to make changes, as defensive coordinator Don Martindale was just fired.

The Browns are a complete mess at quarterback, having publicly committed themselves to Baker Mayfield, but still boast a young, talented roster that will at the very least be a tough out twice a year.

That leaves Rooney’s team, the Steelers, looking like the group with the most questions. The franchise that has always prided itself on consistency now appears to be consistently average, and consistently not a threat to make noise even if they reach the playoffs.

Tomlin’s coaching staff boasts no big names, no in-demand coordinators. The offense, so long defined by elite performers, now has none; Najee Harris would be, but his big numbers – 1,667 yards from scrimmage, 1,200 of them on the ground – are belied by the fact that he was just 49th in the league in yards per touch among qualified players, at 4.4.

The defense has a huge star in T.J. Watt and a venerable leader in Cam Heyward, but outside of those two and Minkah Fitzpatrick, there are more question marks than proven difference-makers.

No one fears the Steelers anymore, nor should they. The aura and mystique? Those are gone, too. The team hasn’t had a losing season under Tomlin’s watch, but they haven’t had a truly memorable one in about a decade, either.

Art Rooney II might not be a true football man, but he has to recognize all of this, and realize that now is the time for real action, that a continued adherence to the status quo will put the Steelers on a path to irrelevance.

Right?

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Mueller: Rooney has many questions to answer in pivotal offseason