PITTSBURGH —They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. For the Pittsburgh Steelers strength and conditioning staff, that doesn't seem to be true.
This afternoon, the Steelers will take their annual conditioning test at St. Vincent College near Latrobe, Pa. — the very first thing on the training camp schedule after moving into their dorm rooms.
Last season, it was an unmitigated disaster.
In 2024, the Steelers were debuting a new strength and conditioning staff, with Western Pennsylvania native Phil Matusz returning to Pittsburgh after a few seasons at Boston College. Matusz' hiring came after the Steelers let go Marcel Pastoor, who had spent 23 years with the team before his departure.
Pittsburgh Steelers strength and conditioning coach Phil Matusz at practice on Nov. 15, 2024. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now
While the new strength and conditioning staff was in place for OTAs and minicamp last year, the first impression they made on most surrounding the Steelers came on the first day of training camp last July, when starting quarterback Russell Wilson was injured while pushing a weighted sled as part of the team's camp-opening conditioning test.
Things did not progress well from there. The challenging fitness test that injured the team's starting quarterback, combined with the collegiate-level bonafides of the staff and some early personalty conflicts led to a feeling from some on the team to think that the new staff might be in over its collective head.
"You're not far off," one veteran player said in 2024 when asked if that was the case.
When the NFLPA released its annual report cards of NFL teams and the working environments therein, the Steelers' worst score was for their strength staff, finishing dead last among the 32 teams. The results of the 2024 season didn't skew kindly to the team's strength staff, either, as the Steelers finished the year as one of the most-injured teams in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Steelers WR Roman Wilson at practice on Wednesday, Sept 19, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
According to a study by Rotowire.com , the Steelers had 37 injuries with a total of 223 man-games lost to injury, the fifth-most in the league. A separate study by sportscasting.com pegged the financial impact of the Steelers' injury proclivity. Pittsburgh had $23 million worth of salary left on the sidelines in 2024 due to injury. That figure was the seventh-most in the NFL.
Of course, not all injuries are made equal. When Steelers' first-round pick Troy Fautanu was lost for the season to a September knee injury, no one in the organization placed any blame on the training staff.
"Foot just got caught in the ground real weird," Fautanu said, calling it a freak accident.
But soft-tissue injuries are generally seen as more preventable. Conditioning is one of the key aspects of preventing such injuries, and as such, keeping their number down is a key metric for the strength and conditioning staff.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson during practice on Sept. 4, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
"The biggest issue with what happened with the Steelers was a flaw in training methodologies and training philosophies with the newer generation of strength coaches," CBS sports injury analyst and strength and conditioning specialist Marty Jaramillo told Steelers Now. "They focus too much on functional movements and not enough on muscle imbalances.
"What did Russell Wilson do in early training? He was doing a test on the sled, right? That's a pushing exercise. It's all quads, pushing, driving, and he tore his calf. It really lingered. That is a test that you better be doing a warm-up for the calf before you do that test."
In Pittsburgh last year, Wilson's injury was just the tip of the iceberg, and those soft-tissue injuries added up to a big problem. In 2023, the Steelers lost 23 man-games to soft-tissue injuries, with six players missing time, according to a Steelers Now study that focused only on known soft-tissue injuries and excluded players placed on injured reserve before the season that were not expected to be contributors.
Using the same standards for 2024, the Steelers had 12 such injuries to 11 different players that cost the team 53 man-games.
James Daniels
, groin, 2 games
Minkah Fitzpatrick
, hamstring, 3 games
Pat Freiermuth
, hamstring, 6 games
Pressley Harvin III
, hamstring, 2 games
Cam Heyward
, groin, 6 games
Diontae Johnson
, hamstring, 4 games
Justin Fields
, hamstring, 1 game
Justin Fields, abdominal, 2 games
Nick Herbig
, hamstring, 4 games
Alex Highsmith
, groin, 3 games
Tyler Matakevich
, hamstring, 7 games
George Pickens
, hamstring, 3 games
Cory Trice Jr.
, hamstring 9 games
Roman Wilson
, hamstring, 10 games
Russell Wilson, calf, 5 games
Calvin Anderson
, groin, 5 games
DeShon Elliott
, hamstring, 2 games
Larry Ogunjobi
, groin, 2 games
The increase was so extreme that head coach Mike Tomlin took the unusual step of acknowledging the issue in his post-season press conference.
"How can we keep our team healthier?" Tomlin said was one of the questions the team needed to address this offseason. "We experienced a rash of soft issue injuries that was impactful."
The Steelers did not make any major personnel changes, with Matusz and his staff back for a second full season in 2025. They also have not made any public announcements about what they plan to change this year.
"The proof is in the pudding as we begin to train and prepare our group, and the results will speak for themselves, but certainly we've been focused and working hard in that area," Tomlin said when asked for a follow-up on the issue in March.
While Tomlin is perfectly within his rights to let his results speak for themselves, a public plan for how the Steelers hope to fix the issue in 2025 would probably inspire more confidence.
But the team's players, while not wishing to speak for the organization, have noticed positive changes in the way the strength and conditioning program has been organized for 2025, with several citing greater cooperation with the players' private trainers and more personalized conditioning plans.
The players also, nearly to man, said that maintaining their own bodies is their responsibility, first and foremost, whatever is happening from the team perspective.
Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Troy Fautanu hits the blocking sled during training camp on July 30, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
"I think so," one player who has a history of soft-tissue injuries said when asked if he's confident in the team's plan for 2025. "I think there were some changes that needed to be made, but at the end of the day, we need to look at ourselves and see how we can be better in that area. … Injuries like that are self-preventable. I've been doing a lot of maintenance stuff this offseason to make sure that doesn't happen again for me for myself."
"So far, I'm happy with everything going," added a returning offensive player. "There's been some adjustments to our training and stuff like that. But part of it also is guys staying on top of their bodies in recovery and stuff like that. It's both, but I'm very happy and comfortable with everything that's going on."
The fact that veteran Steelers players seem bought into the plan is big, because if players tune out the conditioning staff over concerns with last year's results, things could get even worse.
"You simply can't lose the weight room," Jaramillo said. "The weight room is a place of sanctity, right? That's where it all happens, where there's no cameras, you know what I mean? And you lose that weight room, you've got problems."
In many ways, a strength and conditioning coach's influence over players has never been less. Players don't ever get out of shape over the offseason. They almost all have personal trainers that they can work with at a moment's notice, and the thoughts of the players reflect the reality that at the end of the day, in 2025, their health is just as much their responsibility as it is the team's.
The Steelers' staff can be better, and they're getting that second chance for a first impression. The players largely appear to have bought into the changes made and are looking forward to getting things right in 2025.
"It's a part of the game, unfortunately," a veteran Steelers defender said. "I think you gotta do what you gotta do to take care of yourself."
Mike Tomlin always talks about his players making a big jump from their first season to their second season. The Steelers are now counting on their strength staff making that same leap in year two.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Seeking Strength Staff Bounce-Back after Injury-Riddled 2024
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