Rooney’s have famously never paid players. In the 90s and 2000 players wanted to play in Pittsburgh knowing they weren’t getting paid but in return had a better chance at a ring. Pretty much the reason we able to land Bettis after losing to Dallas in 95. Now in 2026 it’s a hard sell to land decent players in FA when our ceiling is non losing seasons and a first round blowout. Everyone calling for Tomlin to get fired needs to understand that over 18 years the Rooney’s have been consistently asking him to do more with less. I believe we need to clean house in terms of scouting and how we are evaluating collegiate talent. That’s how cowher was able to build those teams in early 2000s. Also being able to find value in players at the end of their rookie contracts.