PITTSBURGH —In almost every season since World War II, the Pittsburgh Steelers have worn a pattern on their sleeve known as a Northwestern Stripe. Named for the midwest college that first wore them in the 1920s, the Steelers first adopted them in their second season in 1934, and they've been a part of almost every uniform design the team has had since.
The specific pattern the team wears now has been unchanged since the 1969 season — gold/white/gold/white/gold on a black backroads. It's as much of a visual symbol of the team as its Steelmark-based logo or the Terrible Towel, and that stipe pattern repeats in design motifs around Acrisure Stadium.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a game against the Houston Texans on Jan. 12, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
In many more ways than one, don't expect the Steelers to change their stripes.
I mean that in of course, the most literal of ways. They're not changing their primary uniform any time soon. But also figuratively. As the Steelers embark on their fourth head coaching search since 1969, don't expect a lot to change about one of the NFL's most consistent organizations.
Mike Tomlin resigned on Tuesday after 19 seasons with the Steelers, and probably the most notable thing about his tenure, even more so than his top-10 NFL win total, Super Bowl victory and likely Hall of Fame candidacy, was the fact that Tomlin never had a losing season.
Many fans bemoaned that streak, as it came in conjunction with Tomlin also losing his final seven playoff games and going nine years in a row without winning a playoff game. They also began to associate the streak with Tomlin himself, with many believing that the team would have rather continued his streak than take a step backward and re-set the roster.
That's probably true, but it didn't just come from Tomlin. Steelers president Art Rooney II strongly reiterated his desire to never back down from competing each and every season.
"I'm not sure why you'd waste a year of your life not trying to contend," Rooney said. "Obviously, your roster is what it is every year, it changes every year. You deal with what you have every year, but you put yourself into position to compete every year. Sometimes, you have the horses, sometimes you don't, but I think you try every year."
So don't expect a new head coach to get some sort of length grace period or for the team to take on a full-on rebuild, just because Tomlin has resigned.
"We're not going to say, 'we're going to take a couple of years to figure this out, then we'll try and compete,'" Rooney said. "I think you try every year. As I said, some years you have the horses to really get there, some you don't. But you try every year. … The standard is to try to compete to win a championship every year."
So while Tomlin will not be patrolling the sideline for the first time in 19 years next fall, don't expect the Steelers to look a lot different, both in terms of their literal stripes, or the way they approach their season.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Saunders: Even with Tomlin Gone, Don't Expect Steelers to Change Their Stripes
Related Headlines
