Pittsburgh’s coaching change has already altered the feel around the Steelers, at least if tight end JJ Galbreath is reading the room correctly.
Galbreath, who is entering his second season and battling for a roster spot, said on Zach Banner’s podcast, The Banner Show, that the atmosphere under the new head coach feels noticeably different than it did a year ago. He pointed to a sense of strain around Mike Tomlin last season and contrasted that with what he’s seeing now.
"Last year, coming in, I felt like there was a tension in the air being around Mike Tomlin," he admitted. "That also could just be because I'm an undrafted free agent rookie, so you're trying to make every interaction positive."
Galbreath was careful to note that his view comes from a limited sample, but he said the current setup has felt looser. For him, the clearest example came during the team’s voluntary veteran camp earlier this offseason.
"So far this year, we've had a little bit of slack here and there," he shared. "We had our voluntary veteran camp, and was supposed to be three days.
We got two good days of work, and they were like, 'We're good. You guys can have the rest of the week off.
We got good work in.'
The bigger question now is what that shift means once the games matter. Will the new staff’s approach finally help the Steelers break through in the postseason, or will it turn out to be change for change’s sake?
For now, Galbreath’s comments suggest the new coach has brought a lighter tone and a fresh start. The focus, at least inside the building, appears to be on the work itself rather than the end result. After 19 seasons with one head coach, that kind of reset is no small thing, and the Steelers seem to be buying in.
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Second-year tight end JJ Galbreath is among the younger players who have noticed the shift, and that matters for a roster trying to turn a fresh start into something lasting. Grudens message was simple enough: trust McCarthy, because he believes the new coach is built for the job. Whether that confidence carries over once the games start is the real question, but the Steelers at least seem to be hearing the right kind of noise before the first snap. [Read more 🡒]