For nearly two decades, Steeler Nation has heard Mike Tomlin say, “The standard is the standard.” Early in his tenure, this message seemed to resonate with players. The Steelers went to the Super Bowl twice in three years, bringing home one Vince Lombardi trophy. The 2016 Steelers squad was inches (and a call I still think they got wrong) away from a Super Bowl trip when a Jesse James catch was ruled short of the goal line against the New England Patriots in the 2017 AFC championship. There was an era of the Killer Bs where Ben Roethlisberger led a very successful offense.

With all of this being said, it has been a long nine years since the Steelers won a playoff game. Year after year, the Steelers squeak into the playoffs as a wild card team only to be smashed like a loaf of bread on Wild Card Weekend. Years ago, the players and the city of Pittsburgh took pride in what was the standard. The black and gold have a storied franchise history and six Lombardi trophies to show for it. Newborn babies are wrapped in Terrible Towels when they are born at some local hospitals. There is an adoration of this football team that echoes throughout western Pennsylvania, and it has been that way for years. Lately, however, is a different story. The adoration is still there, and the fan base tends to be quite loyal as a whole. However, it feels like Steelers fans are slowly losing pride and losing hope. With each year that passes and ends the same, it feels like the standard is being lowered. Somewhere along the way, it was acceptable to have winning regular seasons but no playoff success. This is not the Steelers football I grew up watching, and I know I can’t be the only fan who feels this way.

After the rough 5 game losing streak to end the 2024 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I have a call to action. Adjust the standard. It’s well past the time that major changes need to be made. The Pittsburgh Steelers have had too much success as an organization over the past 50 years to settle for this any longer. And if the coaching staff or the players on the current roster cannot meet the adjusted standard? It might be time to either place some pressure on them or cut ties and find individuals who can meet the new standard. While this is not the typical way the Rooney family likes to handle business, something different needs to happen to break this cycle of mediocrity. A very wise Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I don’t know about the rest of you, but this Steelers fan is ready to start on the path towards different results for the NFL franchise that I am so passionate about.