Since the departure of former head coach Mike Tomlin, there’s been some back and forth between former Pittsburgh Steelers greats. Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and former linebacker James Harrison talked on a podcast about when Tomlin’s time in Pittsburgh was coming to an end.
James Harrison Calls Out Joey Porter Over Ben Roethlisberger Comments
After Tomlin resigned, another former Steeler, Joey Porter Sr., took to another podcast to call out both Roethlisberger and Harrison. On Monday, Harrison responded to Porter’s comments.
Simply put, Harrison does not agree with the way Porter portrayed Roethlisberger. To backtrack, Porter joined current Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward’s podcast, “Not Just Football,” and talked about Harrison and Roethlisberger’s comments surrounding Tomlin’s coaching in Pittsburgh.
Porter not only said Harrison “broke the brotherhood” with his comments, but said Roethlisberger was “not a good teammate” and definitely broke the brotherhood.
That led to Harrison speaking up on his own show, the “Deebo & Jo” podcast, and calling out Porter for his comments regarding Roethlisberger.
“You broke the Brotherhood, bro, more than we did. You didn’t even play under Mike. You won a championship with Ben. You said it yourself,” Harrison said. “As Me and Joey talk, and we talked again. I hung up on my boy. I said, ‘It ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun.’
“And right there, Joey has a personal issue with Ben, and he was the rabbit with the gun. He took his shot because he doesn’t see Ben as a brother.”
Harrison added he doesn’t think Roethlisberger is a bad teammate because he has a good relationship with him.
However, he admitted Roethlisberger had his moments early in his career.
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“7 (Roethlisberger) could be an a–hole. That’s facts. When Ben came in, this man went 13-1 as a rookie. In his second season, he won a Super Bowl. The youngest quarterback to ever do it; that’s when 7 was born,” Harrison said. “He became the youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.
“Hell, yeah, that’s going to stroke my ego and give me delusions of grandeur. But over time, he has matured and grown up, and you don’t value the same things you did at 23 that you do at 30.”
James Harrison on Big Ben:
“I personally do not think Ben was the bad teammate. Because I have a good relationship with Ben.”#steelers
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— Matthew Luciow (@matthewluciow92) February 16, 2026
Harrison added he’s continued to grow as a person as he’s grown older, even to the present day. So, he wasn’t surprised that Roethlisberger acted the way he did when he was young.
But he saw his former teammate grow as he got older.
“Yes, there’s things that you see in the locker room, you heard in the locker room,” Harrison said. “But it was never something that we had an issue with, that we couldn’t correct with each other.”
“So the relationship with Ben is still intact for me, and right now, we are far better, greater friends, brothers now than we ever were in the past, and that continues to grow.”
Harrison continued that what he and Roethlisberger said about Tomlin was an attack on his coaching, but what Porter said about Roethlisberger was an attack on his character.
“Two different things, and that’s more breaking the brotherhood than what Ben said. Ben said, I think I feel that maybe Tomlin should move on,” Harrison said. “Like, come on, bro. That’s what he said.
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“I went way harder than that, but he went on it because he obviously has a personal issue with Ben that hasn’t been resolved.”
