One thing that distinguishes NFL teams is their team culture. Teams like the Cleveland Browns struggled to create a clear team culture, which resulted in the franchise losing direction. Meanwhile, teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers have a team culture ingrained in every aspect of the team and have remained one of the most consistent in the league. Players seem to recognize the difference between the teams, with one former Steeler detailing the difference between Pittsburgh and other teams he played for:
Myles Jack was a linebacker for the Steelers in 2022 and 2023, but before that he spent essentially the rest of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jack was instrumental in leading the Jaguars to their most successful season in 2017. That year, the Jaguars’ defense terrorized the Steelers, eliminating them in their only playoff game that year. Recently, Jack appeared in the commentary booth during a professional baseball game in the Atlantic League. In a video uploaded to announcer Noah Epstein’s YouTube channel, Jack was asked to explain the difference between the Jaguars and the Steelers.
“Jacksonville is a new organization, I think it was formed in 1995 when I was born,” Jack said. “The Steelers have been around for so long, and people are born with that tradition because their great-grandparents used to watch them play. You can’t beat that tradition and everything, for sure. They have years of experience. Six Super Bowl wins, that history is strong.”
The Steelers organization dates back to 1933, so as Jack says, the Steelers have had a lot longer to establish themselves than the Jaguars. This is not a knock on the Jaguars, especially since they’ve come closer to a Super Bowl than the Steelers in more recent times, but it does show why the Steelers organization is held in such high regard: history matters.
Jack retired before the start of last season, but returned to football when he got a call from the Steelers after their linebacker corps was decimated by injuries. Considering he was retired, Jack played pretty well, arguably better than he did during his first stint with the team. It’s fair to wonder if the Steelers’ history and good experience with him was part of why Jack came out of retirement, and if he would have made the same decision if another team had called.
Jack had a great year with the Steelers in 2023, helping them weather a storm of injuries that were hopefully avoidable this year, but he won’t be joining the Steelers for a third time. It won’t make up for Jack’s blowout loss to the Steelers in 2017, but it helps that he has strong opinions about Pittsburgh. The Jaguars have always been a thorn in the Steelers’ side, and while the Jaguars did get a win in Pittsburgh last year, the Steelers may have had the last laugh.
History is on the Steelers’ side, but if they don’t want to end up like the Jaguars and Browns, they need to keep moving forward and make new history this year. Not winning a playoff game since 2016 says a lot. The 2024 Steelers look like the strongest team they’ve had in recent memory, so there’s no excuse not to improve on last year’s performance. As long as they can stay healthy, the Steelers should prove Jack’s words true again.
