“The Steelers, with their head coaches, are like the parents who stay married for the kids. It’s just not going to happen, right?” Colin Cowherd’s jab cuts deep, but it’s rooted in NFL lore. Pittsburgh hasn’t fired a coach since Lyndon B. Johnson was president—a loyalty as unshakable as an ’78 Ford pickup. But beneath that steel resolve, cracks are forming. Imagine your favorite diner’s coffee machine breaking down daily but refusing to replace it. That’s the Steelers’ offensive line: a relic held together by duct tape and nostalgia.

Enter Aaron Rodgers. At 41, he’s chasing legacy, not linebackers. But Pittsburgh’s O-line woes aren’t new. They’ve been simmering longer than Law & Order reruns. Since 2019, the Steelers rank 29th in offensive touchdowns—a stat uglier than a Thanksgiving turkey dropped mid-carve. Now, with Rodgers eyeing a late-career surge, Pittsburgh’s decade-long neglect looms like a blindside hit.

Mike Tomlin’s résumé glimmers: 18 seasons, zero losing records, one Super Bowl ring. But former Steelers safety Ryan Clark, who suited up under Tomlin for seven years, isn’t swayed. “I believe his voice has run stale there,” Clark declared on ESPN’s First Take. “I believe he’s allowed that team to reach the highest of heights they’re gonna reach in less than they can get a top-tier quarterback. He needs to go have his ‘Andy Reid-Kansas City run’ on another team.” So, Tomlin’s magic has flatlined. Since 2016, Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game, and their last four postseason exits?

Lost by a combined 60 points. But will change usher in? Clark believes the decision squarely falls on Tomlin’s hands. “I believe that Mike Tomlin is unfireable. I believe Mike Tomlin steps away from being a coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers—that should be his decision,” he said. But the bigger issue in the roster?

Protection. “If it takes you seven to eight years to fix the offensive line and you still can’t get it right—and Pittsburgh still can’t, and [Sean] McVay and Andy Reid and Kevin O’Connell can do it in an off-season—you’re outdated,” Cowherd blasted. While Sean McVay and Andy Reid retooled their trenches in one offseason, Pittsburgh’s line remains as unreliable as a weather app. They lost Pro Bowl left tackle Dan Moore Jr. to Tennessee this spring.

The Steelers’ replacement for Moore Jr. is Broderick Jones, their 2023 first-round pick. Jones started 13 games at right tackle as a rookie but is now shifting back to his natural left tackle position, where he starred at Georgia. For Rodgers—a QB who’s avoided sacks like tax audits—this is a five-alarm fire.

If you were Aaron Rodgers, would you trust your legacy to Pittsburgh’s patchwork line?

Aaron Rodgers’s looming problem

Let’s get blunt: Aaron Rodgers isn’t here for a rebuild. He’s here for Lombardi Trophies and perhaps a legacy. But Pittsburgh’s O-line is younger than TikTok dances. Left tackle Jones has 13 career starts. Right tackle Troy Fautanu played one full game before tearing his ACL. Center Zach Frazier? A rookie in 2024. “Older quarterbacks don’t want to get hit, and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks get hit,” Cowherd warned. So, Rodgers might face more pressure than a Black Friday cashier.

The Steelers’ front office bet big on potential, drafting linemen early in 2023 and 2024. But potential doesn’t block Myles Garrett. “They just feel outdated,” Cowherd added. Even Derwin Gray, a former Steelers lineman, hinted at deeper issues: “I really didn’t get the coaching I deserved and needed to learn.” If Pat Meyer—Pittsburgh’s current O-line coach—can’t mold this group, Rodgers’s twilight could dim fast.

Mike Tomlin’s legacy is secure, but the Steelers’ identity is tangled. They’re the mom-and-pop shop in an Amazon world—charming but crumbling. Rodgers, meanwhile, faces a Catch-22: Chase glory in Pittsburgh or risk becoming a piñata. As Heraclitus once said, “Change is the only constant.” Will Pittsburgh embrace it or cling to the past like a scratched vinyl record? And for Rodgers—the ultimate gunslinger—will 2025 be a fairytale finish or a final reckoning?