Key Highlights
- (2:34)Brooke PryorJan 14, 2026, 02:07 PM ETCloseBrooke Pryor is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019.
- She previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and the University of Oklahoma for The Oklahoman. Follow on XEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPITTSBURGH -- Even though Mike Tomlin, the man who coined the Pittsburgh Steelers organizational creed of "the standard is the standard," left the franchise after 19 seasons, team president Art Rooney II said his expectation for the next head coach remains the same."The standard is to try to compete to win a championship every year," Rooney said Wednesday, one day after Tomlin's resignation as Steelers coach. Rooney, 73, rebuffed the idea that he would tolerate a rebuild as the franchise installs just its fourth head coach since 1969. When asked whether the Steelers would consider overhauling the current roster and entering a "rebuild" phase, Rooney responded that he doesn't "like that word," and added that he is "not sure why you waste a year of your life not trying to contend.""I'm not going to say, 'Well, we're going to take a couple of years to figure this out and then we'll try to compete,'" Rooney said.
- "I think you try every year.
- Some years you have the horses to really get there.
- Some years you don't, but you try every year, in my view."Rooney said he will lead the search along with general manager Omar Khan.