The Steeler Way Is The Right Way

Added on Jan 25, 2011 by Scott in

Super Bowl

The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to make their eighth trip to the Super Bowl. That ties them with the Dallas Cowboys for the most appearances by any one team since the Super Bowl era began in 1967. Their six titles are the most of any franchise and if they win on February 6th, the gap will widen even more.

In the last forty-two years, only three head coaches have paced the black and gold sidelines: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. To put that in perspective, in the same time frame, fifteen men have coached the New York Jets. The Steeler way of building and running an organization has been in place for generations and will be for generations to come. Why? Because it works.

Going all the way back to the early days of Noll, Pittsburgh has adopted the blue collar mentality of the people that inhabit its city. They work hard and do two simple things extremely well: run the ball and play defense. Quarterbacks, receivers and tight ends have been integral to their success, but when all is said and done, names like Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, Rashard Mendenhall, Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Greg Lloyd, Rod Woodson, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu are the ones who have defined what the franchise represents.

Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger get much of the glory because of the position they play. However, neither will ever be lumped into the elite category with the likes of Unitas, Graham, Montana, Elway, Manning, Favre and Brady. They both are famous for their unorthodox style and penchant for performing at their best when the game is on the line. Their stats are okay, but not eye-popping. Their mechanics are adequate, but not flawless. Their leadership is admirable, but not awe-inspiring, And yet they have excelled in the one single area that matters most when judging quarterbacks. They win.

More than anything, the Steelers assemble winners. The majority of their talent has been home-grown via the draft. Sure, they’ve added key free agents throughout the years, but the list of all-time greats is peppered with players that were scouted, evaluated, drafted and taught to master the Steelers’ system. A sizable portion of the current roster was acquired due to smart drafting. And the results are star players such as Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Casey Hampton and Maurkice Pouncey.

The Steelers don’t tinker with success either. They’ve been coaching and playing the same brand of tough, physical football for decades. They’ve constructed a championship model that is respected throughout the league, and one that should be copied by all teams desperate to reach the promised land. Pittsburgh only knows one way of doing things. Their way. The right way.