Steelers Daily News & Links: HOF Tomlin Exhibit, Bradshaw on Mean Joe

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Jan 26, 2024

Steelers Daily News & Links: Your daily stop for all of the news and links from the Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL and around the Sports Now Group.

? Mike Tomlin’s headset and a game ball from when the Pittsburgh Steelers
defeated the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The win allowed Tomlin to surpass Hall of Famer Bill Parcells on the NFL’s all-time wins list (173).

🗣️ New to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Mike Tomlin's headset and a game ball from when the @steelers defeated Baltimore in Week 18. The win allowed Tomlin to surpass Hall of Famer Bill Parcells on the NFL's all-time wins list. pic.twitter.com/AYWqVcz744

— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) January 26, 2024

? Longtime NFL insider Peter King thinks Mike Tomlin can’t run it back with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph as the Steelers quarterbacks.

“You can’t run it back with Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and a free agent from Chadron State,” King said during a recent appearance with Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk. “You can’t do that. You’ve got to go out and get a quarterback who is going to give you a chance with a representative fairly strong defense to come out in 2024 and compete at the highest level with the Ravens, the Bengals, and the Browns.

“As it relates to the offense, I really do wonder if it’s organizational,” Florio retorted. “I wonder how high up the ladder it goes all the way to Art Rooney that they’ve been kind of meat and potatoes. We’re going to play great defense, have a meat-and-potatoes offense, and win games. You’re right. At some point, you have got to step into the 21st century and take advantage of the fact that rules are eschewed in favor of offense as they had in the younger Ben Roethlisberger days.”

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? During an appearance on the Games With Names podcast hosted by former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw shared an iconic story involving “Mean” Joe Greene.

“[Joe Greene] against Cleveland one year took his helmet off, I believe it was [Mike] Baab the center and like Samson with the jawbone of an a** wiped him out. Oh yeah, they couldn’t control him, and we were in Cleveland, and they’re scattered. He took that helmet and threw it into the stands. He ran back, grabbed the football, and threw it into the stands.”

? Former Steelers guard Ramon Foster thinks former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown would be a good fit for the Steelers. Brown interviewed for the Steelers’ vacant OC position on Wednesday.

“Thomas Brown, he was the interim OC for the [Carolina] Panthers. He was also on the Super Bowl Championship team with the [Los Angeles] Rams. He has the ability to call plays, he has called plays at the college level and at the NFL level too. What happened to Carolina this year was a full-fledged crap show, ain’t no other way around it, it’s from the top,” Foster said on his podcast. “I think in Miami, during his play-calling, I think they averaged about 30 points a game. And I know this is college, but he also operated in the LA Rams offense. Also, he has play-calling knowledge in the NFL too.”

? https://twitter.com/scarpizio/status/1750883979828302245″>Per

Ryan Scarpino, the Steelers are 29-23 (including postseason) against the Ravens since 2000. Thirty five of the contests have been one-score games. The Steelers have won seven of the last eight. The Ravens won six out of seven from 2013-2016.

? Steel City Star posted an incredible interview from Joe Greene during his playing career.

I think I already know what video I’ll post on the day the Steelers open their 2024 season ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/McViVLlIXc

— Steel City Star (@steelcitystar) January 26, 2024

? Happy 59th birthday to former Steelers running back Merrill Hoge. Born on Jan. 26, 1965 in Pocatello, Idaho, Hoge was the Steelers’ 10th-round pick out of Idaho State in the 1987 NFL Draft. The underrated back ended up turning those humble beginnings into a seven-year career with the Steelers, rushing for 3,115 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Hoge’s best season came in 1990, when he carried the ball 203 times for 772 yards and seven touchdowns, and also caught 49 passes for 342 yards. He left the Steelers as a free agent in 1994, playing one season with the Chicago Bears before injuries ended his career.

After his retirement, Hoge spent over a decade as a broadcaster for ESPN. He was intern in the Steelers’ scouting department in 2023.

? The Steelers released a new The Standard episode. It features multiple players recapping the 2023 season and scouts on the road evaluating college talent.