The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of eyes on them heading into the 2025 season. The acquisition of Aaron Rodgers turned heads, and the Jalen Ramsey trade made them “win-now” contenders. Knowing Mike Tomlin’s history, it’s no surprise that the Steelers will go all-out as they continue their quest for another Super Bowl. Recently, Jerome Bettis had an exclusive interview with PFSN in which he spoke about Tomlin’s successful past.
Jerome Bettis Believes Urges Steelers To Address Big Issue for Mike Tomlin
No one can take away Tomlin’s past, as he is yet to finish a season below .500. He has spent his entire head coaching career with the Steelers, another feat that is rarely seen in sports. With his legacy continuing to carry on, it’s only a matter of time before the 53-year-old brings the Steelers to the promised land once again. Bettis knows it’s possible, but touches on what has continued to hold the team back.
“I think you gotta give him a quarterback. I think that’s the issue. You are asking him to make wine out of water. You don’t have a quarterback, and you ask him to win a championship? It’s impossible,” Bettis said. The team will have an established quarterback entering the fold in 2025, but with one, maybe two seasons left in the tank, Rodgers is not the long-term answer.
That time Jerome Bettis had more touchdowns than rushing yards 😂 5 Carries, 1 Yard, 3 Touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/KlfD732QnN
— Football’s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) June 27, 2025
Bettis also believes that coach Tomlin has been criticized for having success despite not having a solution at the quarterback position.
He continued, “The Steelers haven’t had a great quarterback since Big Ben’s last couple of years before he retired. So, to ask him to be more than what this team is is really disingenuous… He’s not going to let this team be 4-13 or whatever. We’re not going to do that because of the way he operates, so he is a victim of his own success, and that’s part of the problem.”
“But the organization has to say, ‘Enough is enough. We got to go get the guy.’ And the problem is the Steelers have always been a development team through the draft, and their first-round picks have always been a priority and very important, and they’ve had a lot of success with the first-round picks,” he added.
First-round picks are the name of the game, with the Steelers being linked to a quarterback in the 2026 Mock Draft. It’s far too early to tell what direction they’ll be heading, or where they’ll be drafting, but 2026 is a quarterback-heavy class where the team could do some damage.
Since Roethlisberger retired, the Steelers have seen quite a few quarterbacks try to step up. Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky had their chance in 2022, with Mason Rudolph thrown into the equation in 2023. Last season, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were the team’s options, with neither remaining on the roster heading into the 2025 season.
The Steelers selected Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the Ohio State product has the opportunity to learn from Rodgers.
