Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris. Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Najee Harris gets brutally honest on Steelers issues: Change is needed 'in-house'

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/16/24

Despite having 17 winning seasons and 11 playoff appearances under head coach Mike Tomlin, it’s clear changes are needed for the Pittsburgh Steelers following Monday’s 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills during Super Wild Card Weekend.

While many likely have their own opinion of what those changes should be, running back Najee Harris didn’t shy away from what he believes needs to be done to fix the team’s issues.

“If you want to elevate and get to where we're at, there's got to be some in-house things that need to change,” Harris said, via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “…In-house rules. Not no changes or coaches or anything like that. Just the rules that are in the building. We've got to be more disciplined. We've got to be more committed. I'm not saying that we're not, but coming from a place (University of Alabama) that has structure and coming and just seeing, we could probably get help in these areas; make a change. I think that's something that could help.”

Najee Harris said the Steelers knew BUF was a team that showed a lot of two-high. But they came out in one-high looks and stayed in it to roll the extra defender down to slow the run game.

So, the follow-up -- what's the counter to that?

Harris said it was 'run it anyway'.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) January 16, 2024

It’s not the first time Harris has been outspoken about poor results. Following a 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 11, Harris called his team out for not being able to execute much offensively. Former offensive coordinator Matt Canada was subsequently fired days later.

While several have called for Tomlin’s job after the Steelers finished 10-7 and needed to win their final three games of the regular season (they three straight to Arizona, New England and Indianapolis in Weeks 13-15) just to make it into the playoffs, Harris made it clear that wasn’t what he was doing Monday night.

Instead, the 25-year-old RB, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns for the third straight season, pointed out that Pittsburgh’s mental mistakes and its lack of grit were likely what led to the team’s loss to the Bills and its recent run of bad luck in the playoffs.

The Steelers have lost their last five playoff games.

Harris isn’t the only one to make light of the perceived identity problem in Pittsburgh. Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger admitted during his “Footbahlin’” podcast last month that he believed the “Steeler way” was gone, echoing many of the same sentiments that Harris alluded to on Monday.

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