The Steel City doesn’t just have divided attention right now—they’ve got divided frustration. Some are pointing fingers at Russell Wilson, others at Mike Tomlin. And then there’s the third camp: the one blaming both of them. After all, Tomlin was the one who made Wilson QB1 over Justin Fields. So if you’re mad at Russ, shouldn’t you also be mad at the guy who put him under center in the first place?

But let’s be real—was Fields really the answer? Sure, he went 4-2 before Wilson took over, but let’s not pretend he was lighting it up. Wilson actually started off hotter, going 6-1. Then came the five-game collapse, and suddenly, the Steelers’ season looked like the same ol’ story. They just can’t seem to get it going in the postseason.

And that’s where the heat on Tomlin really picks up. He’s been in Pittsburgh forever, but the playoff drought is getting harder to ignore. “The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in forever,” Mike Golic Jr. said bluntly. However, Yahoo!’s Jason Fitz took it a step further: “The problem with the Steelers is they don’t have a Gold Jacket quarterback… The only way you get to the Super Bowl in the AFC is if you have a potential future Hall of Fame QB: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes.”

I mean, indeed, Pittsburgh doesn’t have that guy. But Tomlin has his shares of blame with him…

It’s not just outside voices stirring the pot. Fans have been restless for years. Six straight playoff losses. The last postseason win? 2017. That’s the longest drought the Steelers have had since before they even won their first Super Bowl. And it’s not like they’re consistently dominant in the regular season either. Just last year, they went from 10-3 to 10-7, only to get bounced by Baltimore in the Wild Card round. That’s the kind of late-season collapse that makes people start asking tough questions.

So, what now? The Steelers clearly need a franchise quarterback. But does that mean they have to bottom out to get one? Some say yes—pointing to teams like the Texans and Commanders, who crashed, burned, and walked away with their guy. Others argue that Pittsburgh doesn’t have to go full tank mode. After all, the Chiefs traded up for Mahomes. The Bills moved up for Josh Allen. The Ravens maneuvered to grab Lamar. The Steelers? They keep waiting for the perfect situation—and it’s not coming.

History shows that waiting is a losing game. The Steelers aren’t bad enough to get a top-three pick, and Tomlin refuses to tank. So if they want to find their guy, they’ll have to be aggressive. Maybe that means trading up. Maybe it means scouting better. What it doesn’t mean is running it back with stopgap quarterbacks and hoping for different results.

At the end of the day, the Steelers are stuck in NFL purgatory—too good to tear it down, too flawed to compete with the heavyweights. And unless they figure out a real plan for the future, they’ll stay right there. Stuck. Watching teams with elite QBs play in January while they argue about who’s really to blame.

Russell Wilson or Mike Tomlin: Choose your villain

Art Rooney II is standing firm on Mike Tomlin. Again. Steelers fans? Not so much. In his latest closed-door press conference—yes, another one behind locked doors—Rooney gave Tomlin his annual vote of confidence. Rooney threw around the usual lines: “I share the fans’ frustration,” “Look at how many games Mike has won,” and the classic “We still feel good about him as a leader.” But let’s be real—Steelers fans have heard this speech more times than they’ve seen a fourth-quarter meltdown. The problem? It’s been eight years since Tomlin won a playoff game. Since then, 28 other coaches have figured out how to get it done.

So why keep Tomlin? Fear. Rooney is terrified of the unknown. The Steelers haven’t fired a head coach since 1969, and breaking that streak feels like crossing some sacred line in the Rooney family playbook. Tim Benz of TribLive put it bluntly: Rooney is “scared to death” of firing Tomlin and landing someone worse. But at what point do you stop settling for slightly above average and start demanding greatness?

Meanwhile, Russell Wilson’s Steelers future is murkier than a Pittsburgh winter morning. After an up-and-down season, rumors are swirling that he could reunite with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. The Raiders need a quarterback, and Carroll’s not exactly shutting down the idea. “I promise you, if you’re a real competitor, you’re not letting options get away from you,” Carroll said when asked about Wilson. That sure doesn’t sound like a no.

But let’s be honest—Wilson didn’t exactly light it up in Pittsburgh. His numbers, as we saw above, were respectable, but he couldn’t stop a five-game skid when it mattered most. Now, Steelers fans are in a pickle. Bring Wilson back and hope for the best? Or hand the keys to Justin Fields, the younger, flashier option who still has a ton to prove?

Either way, it’s a gamble. And Steelers fans have seen enough losing bets lately.

The real question: who’s the bigger villain in this saga? Is it Tomlin, clinging to his job despite years of playoff futility? Or Wilson, who was supposed to be the answer, but might not even be the best option on the roster? Well, fans deserve better than recycled press conferences and quarterback drama. It’s time for Pittsburgh to make a real move. The only thing worse than a bad decision? No decision at all.