The 2025 season marked the end of an era for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons, which brought to an end the longest reining head coach tenure in major American sports.
There had been a notable increase in pressure on Tomlin and the Steelers over the last half decade. After Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Steelers rode a carousel of quarterbacks. Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers have all started
games for Pittsburgh in the last three seasons. Should Rodgers get through training camp unscathed, he will be the first repeat Week 1 starter since Roethlisberger in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
This constant change, and the lack of playoff success that came with it, is perhaps what led to what Steelers tight end JJ Galbreath called “tension” when being around his former head coach last season.
“I felt like there was a tension in the air being around Mike Tomlin,” Galbreath said on The Banner Show, via Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot.
Galbreath adds that he feels a bit more calmness surrounding the current regime under Mike McCarthy.
“[This year], we had our voluntary veteran camp, and that was supposed to be three days,” Galbreath said. “We got two days of good work and [the coaches] were like, ‘We’re good. You guys can have the rest of the week of. We got good work in.‘”
McCarthy and the Steelers will report to training camp on July 28, with their first practice at St. Vincent College taking place on July 29.
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