Many fans and experts blamed it on the team’s defense, which became quite predictable in recent years. Veteran linebacker and former Steelers player James Harrison is the new addition to this list.
“Nobody did a job that was actually titled to him. That was ran by somebody else,” he said while talking about his former coach’s defensive playbook at the Steelers. “Everybody got a title and got paid for it, but very few people did the actual job of the title.”
Harrison’s comments came in the background of Darius Slay’s scathing attack on the coach’s defensive scheme. Slay spent last season with the Steelers, and didn’t hold back when expressing the problems playing in Tomlin’s defense.
“I ain’t gonna lie to you, that Pittsburgh stuff, that was rough for my dog [Jalen Ramsey] because that s***’s backwards over there,” said Slay on his recent podcast Press Coverage. “This is what these [coaches] were telling me. You play outside leverage, and if they catch a ball inside, it’s on the d-line because they’re so good at batting the ball down… I’m not banking on that. That’s the only thing I did not like about the defense.”
Looking at what went wrong for the Steelers in 2025, it comes down to a defensive scheme that just couldn’t keep pace. As per experts, their execution was often messy, and the scheming was arguably worse. This left the door wide open for opponents to run wild. The Week 18 regular-season finale against Baltimore perfectly captured this dysfunction. The team’s poor play design with a lack of communication almost cost the team this game.
Their wildcard round loss against the Houston Texans was also another example. Tomlin’s team looked completely confused with what had hit them as they lost 6-30, and that ended his era in Pittsburgh. The team’s defense statistically finished seventh in defensive efficiency, but as the season progressed, things kept getting worse for them, and eventually, the game against the Texans happened.
Mike McCarthy is now in charge of the Steelers. The HC has experience and is also a Super Bowl-winning coach. He has already started making moves to help the franchise improve its defense, with a 3-4 defensive system already being part of discussions.
After Mike Tomlin’s Departure, Can McCarthy Overhaul the Steelers’ Defense?
Last season, even Steelers insiders started to feel that Mike Tomlin’s approach to building a roster had become stale. Charlie Batch, a former legend who played for the Steelers, also shared this view and urged McCarthy to rebuild the defense plan.
“When you look at all the money on the defensive side of the ball and again, trying to play ball control on the offensive side of the ball, that formula just didn’t work,” he said. “That’s why you see multiple coordinators and offense become stale.”
When McCarthy took the job at Pittsburgh, he made sure to bring Patrick Graham along as his defensive coordinator. Graham has a reputation as a miracle worker when working with limited talent in the defense.
McCarthy has been vocal about how much he values the versatility of Keeanu Benton and Yahya Black in the defensive unit. He is clearly excited about their range. He believes that both athletes have the size and athleticism to slide between nose tackle and defensive end.
Last year, Benton was everywhere on the field at once. He lined up in the A-Gap 234 times and the B-Gap 513 times. He racked up over 30 tackles, and five outside of the tackles. Black’s performance was equally impressive. He had 77 in the A-Gap and 232 snaps in the B-Gap. The defensive tackle also recorded 108 lined up over tackle and 28 outside of the tackle.
The biggest hurdle for the new staff would be dismantling a defensive culture that people like James Harrison and Darius Slay have called backwards. Under Mike Tomlin, the scheme became a rigid relic that forced players into narrow roles. The pressure is now on Mike McCarthy and Patrick Graham to break that mold. In the upcoming season, they would be looking to transform the unit into a functional one.
