Steelers' Focus Should Be On Lombardi Trophies, Not On Non-Losing Seasons

The Pittsburgh Steelers have built a culture since the 1970s focused on winning. This has been evident by the standard set by three head coaches in the team's history, the Lombardi Trophies that are housed inside the Steelers facilities, and by the attitude set forth by the players that embroider the Black and Gold. The expectation is more than just winning football games, it's winning championships. Or at least, that's how it used to be.

Over the past few seasons as the Steelers have transitioned from the big names of the past, the expectation seems to have changed to being average, rather than winning the game's ultimate prize. It's impressive to be like Head Coach Mike Tomlin, who has never had a losing season as a head coach, but the expectation from both Coach Tomlin and the players in the locker room is to get back to competing for a Super Bowl and etch their names in NFL history again.

Former Steelers Linebacker, James Harrison has been championing this message to the Steelers over the past few seasons. It's something that he reiterated on his former teammate Cam Heyward's podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, on Thursday.

"What you expect from this team is simple. You expect to be in a fight to win that Lombardi every year. It's not about having a winning season, it's not about making the playoffs. The process is getting to the Divisional right? After that, we get the Conference, and we come over and get the Super Bowl. Over the course of the last six, seven, eight years, we ain't even won a playoff game since 2016. So that's what we need to get back to, the focus is the Lombardi."

The question that has been plaguing the Steelers since their last playoff victory over the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2016-17 postseason, has been about the team's desire to win the big games and get back to that championship level culture. Too often did it feel like the organization was simply going through the motions during the season, and if they got to the postseason, so be it. It's that desire to compete at the next level that has been frustrating for players past and present to go through over the past few seasons, but also a big reason why the ownership and front office for the team has reignited that drive this offseason.

Reigniting The Steelers' Thirst For A Championship

The thirst for a Lombardi Trophy comes the moment you enter into the league. It's winning that championship that not only etches your name in history, but makes you a part of elite company that so few players get to achieve in their careers. It's that sense of desire that makes some teams stand out above the rest. Teams like the New England Patriots, Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and Steelers all are usually praised because of the legacy of that desire, and the plan is to get back to that.

Changing culture is difficult to do, but it's something that the Steelers have done the past few offseasons by bringing in guys who are "born to be Steelers." Aggressiveness, which has worked for other teams the past few seasons for playoff success, has quickly been adopted by the Steel City. If Harrison's words say anything, it's that he believes that the Steelers can find that momentum again, but have to play for the guy next to them, like the teams before them did. 

"They should be prepared to buy in and be a team player. Guys who are ready to buy into the whole team and help one another."

There is a reason why football is the ultimate team sport. When the team wins, you win. When the team losses, so do you. The Steelers are working hard to reaffirm that mantra, which is why Russell Wilson quickly took to social media during the NFL Draft to welcome the new players. Wilson understands that the team has to play as one if they hope to win their seventh Lombardi this season. It's this comradery that can and will be the Steelers' secret weapon this season. The fire has been lit by players like Harrison, and it's time for players like Wilson to stoke the flame and set the challenge ablaze.