Pittsburg, PA
My Biggest Concern With Pittsburgh’s New Special Teams Coordinator
Pittsburgh has a punting problem. For years, decades really, the unit hasn’t been sufficient. New Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman’s goal is to come in and fix that while improving or maintaining the other special teams units. History says he may fix other aspects, but not punting.
Below is a chart of the average gross punting yards (how far a punt travels before the return) and NFL rank during all four of Crossman’s stints in the head role: Carolina, Detroit, Buffalo, and Miami. Included in the chart is Pittsburgh’s ranking over the Mike Tomlin era, 2007-2025.
The numbers below with analysis to follow:
| Stint | Gross Punt Avg | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina (05-09) | 44.2 yards | 7th |
| Detroit (10-12) | 43.3 yards | 26th |
| Buffalo (13-18) | 43.7 yards | 29th |
| Miami (19-24) | 45.3 yards | 26th |
| Pittsburgh (07-25) | 43.6 yards | 32nd |
Crossman’s numbers in Carolina were good. The rest were not. He had bottom-tier finishes in Detroit, Buffalo, and Miami. Perhaps Buffalo can be excused, given its cold-weather climate, naturally unfriendly to punters. Still, Detroit plays indoors (even with road games in Green Bay and Chicago, that’s just a fraction of the season), and Miami is a warm-weather climate. No matter the venue over the past 15 years, the results haven’t been there.
Pittsburgh’s low finish isn’t shocking. Like Buffalo, punting at Acrisure (and Cleveland, Baltimore, and Cincinnati) makes life tough. The city will always have a disadvantage. Still, there’s no reason to accept finishing dead last in the league over nearly 20 years. Pittsburgh’s punting has always been subpar. It’s why the team’s record holder is from the 60s and not the modern day, like nearly every other NFL team. Washington is the only other team in this situation, thanks to Sammy Baugh’s league record that stood for generations.
How much can Crossman be blamed? He’s not the one on the field. But he evaluates and coaches the position. The results reflect him, especially over such a long span of time, and not a cherry-picked, single-season window. There is a consistently disappointing trend. And it’s gotten him fired in Buffalo and Miami.
Cameron Johnston is currently Pittsburgh’s only punter. Another will surely join the team. Whoever wins the job has their work cut out for them. Crossman must turn around his history – and Pittsburgh’s.
Pittsburg, PA
Overreactions to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2026 NFL Draft Class: Will Howard’s future, Omar Khan without Mike Tomlin, and more
The Pittsburgh Steelers had a 2026 NFL Draft that was, well, perplexing to put it nicely. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat when it comes to the draft process, and in three to four years, there’s a chance we look back on the class and the prevailing notion was dead wrong.
So today, we are going to name the three biggest overreactions to what the Steelers just did over the course of the weekend. Let’s jump in.
Overreaction No. 1: Max Iheanachor is another Broderick Jones
Look, if we want to reprimand what happened in the first round and the phone-gate debacle, that’s fine. But as Omar Khan said after the draft, the Steelers stuck true to their board and went with their highest rated player once Makai Lemon was poached by the Eagles.
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And yes, Iheanachor is raw. Yes, he didn’t start playing football until very recently and was mostly a soccer player. But the truth is, there might not be a tackle with higher potential and a greater ceiling than Iheanachor.
The feet, the length, the traits, it’s all there. Sure, the Steelers will need to be patient, but this isn’t a player who is fundamentally flawed the way that Jones was. This is a player who you don’t have to fix; you have to build up. So it’s far too soon to write off Iheanachor.
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Overreaction No.2: Mike McCarthy doesn’t like Will Howard
When the rhetoric coming out of Pittsburgh is always about how much the Steelers love Will Howard, and on day two, with their third pick in the draft, the Steelers take another quarterback that many view as a reach, it’s easy to see why some may believe that McCarthy doesn’t like Howard.
The truth is, McCarthy doesn’t know what he likes. He needs to see both Allar and Howard competing in a live environment before making any rash decisions. And when you don’t have an obvious quarterback of the future, taking as many shots as possible makes a lot of sense.
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Overreaction No.3: Omar Khan was carried by Mike Tomlin
If you look at Omar Khan’s draft history since he took over for Kevin Colbert in 2023, you see draft classes littered with talent and starters. And honestly, just about every time it reached Sunday of draft weekend, the consensus view was that Khan and the Steelers nailed the draft.
Well, the only obvious difference in the decision-making process this year was no Mike Tomlin. And under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers were at every big-time Pro Day, the Senior Bowl, and well represented at the NFL Combine. A lot of that changed this year, but it doesn’t mean that Omar Khan wasn’t heavily involved, if not making picks, before.
We’ll see if the media and fans, or Khan and co., are right in 3-4 years.
A woman has died, and three others were injured following a shooting at a bar in Vandergrift, Armstrong County, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Troopers said they were called shortly after 1:15 a.m. Sunday to Niki’s Quick Six on First Street in Vandergrift for reports of shots fired.
A local police officer who arrived first found one woman dead and multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to a public information report provided by state police.
The woman who died was identified as Jessica Hilliard, 34, of Apollo. Hilliard was pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim, Rebecca Boston, 24, of McIntyre, was found at the scene and was last listed in critical condition.
Two other victims, Hector Saballos, 34, of Vandergrift, and Dominik Dellach, 25, of Vandergrift, left before troopers arrived. Police said both were later listed in stable condition.
The suspect has been identified as David Dunmire, 36, of Vandergrift. Police said he remained at the scene and was taken into custody without incident.
An investigation determined that a physical altercation broke out in the parking lot outside the bar before Dunmire allegedly pulled out a firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking several people.
State police said they consulted with Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton, who approved a criminal homicide charge.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Pittsburg, PA
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