PG poll: The Steelers Super Bowl window has closed, and the Steeler fans’ love affair with its QB has ended: “Nearly 60% of fans ready for Steelers to move on from Ben Roethlisberger”

Has the Super Bowl window closed?


… let’s move on from Ben


The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette paid for a post-season poll that indicated how much frustration Steeler fans felt after the 2020 season, one that started so propitiously with 11 consecutive victories.


The most interesting number for me in the poll is the one that fans care about most, and one that I pointed out a few weeks ago: “An overwhelming majority of 85% believe the team’s Super Bowl window is now closed.”


I said that the Steelers may not win a Super Bowl until 2034, basing that on the drought that the team went through from 1979 until 2006. With the number of free agents this year and the aging of the team as a whole, that is more likely than not.


What the fans are saying, in other words, is that it is time to rebuild and get rid of most of the current players who have big contracts. That is not surprising for a team that lost four of its last five games, the final one an embarrassing debacle to the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the AFC playoffs, one in which they fell behind 28-0 in the first quarter. 


Poll results


The PG thought that the number about fans turning on Roethlisberger was the one that was most revealing, but if you have been reading any of the Steeler blogs, these numbers are not surprising at all. The glory days of Ben are gone. He has been very unproductive in the playoffs, and very inconsistent during the season,


Polling for the Post-Gazette by CivicScience conducted from Monday through Friday of this week has found broad dissatisfaction with the coaching staff, quarterback and other key players, as well as a general lack of hope in the team’s future following the playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday.


The most eye-catching finding? A strong majority of fans are ready to move on from two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Fully 58% do not want management to stick with him as the starter should he decide to return for 2021.


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(CivicScience)

A combined 70% also gave him a grade of “C” or worse when asked to evaluate his performance in 2020. Just 4% gave him an “A” while the remainder gave him a “B.”


“Poll: Nearly 60% of fans ready for Steelers to move on from Ben Roethlisberger,” Post-Gazette, January 15, 2021


What about the coaches?


Almost 50 percent of the respondents blamed Coach Mike Tomlin for the debacle to Cleveland in which they had arguably the worst quarter in history, falling behind 28-0, and none of the coaches received very high marks. They were as bad as Roethlisberger’s when the Cleveland game was analyzed, 


Tomlin’s report card was just as ugly. A 51% majority gave him a grade of “D” or “F,” even after a 12-4 campaign that saw his team start 11-0. “C” proved to be the most popular choice, while 15% gave him a favorable mark of “A” or “B.”

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If there’s a saving grace for the long-time coach, it’s that many people still believe he can succeed. A 53% majority said they feel Tomlin is a good coach who needs to start producing better results soon. Just 32% called for his firing, while 15% feel his job should be secure.


“Poll: Nearly 60% of fans ready for Steelers to move on from Ben Roethlisberger,” Post-Gazette, January 15, 2021


Winning 64 percent of your games is commendable, but his lack of discipline has brought the franchise to the point of going downhill after this season.


The coordinators also received poor grades, but the poll did not grade the person most responsible for this debacle: Steeler CEO/President Art Rooney, II. 


That is the next topic for consideration, one that the other owners, who now have about 70 percent of the shares, must confront. Can they improve without a change at the top?


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