Mark Madden: The Steelers have a culture problem, and this group can't fix it

Rocky Bleier said it best: “The Steelers suck.”

If you want to debate, you’d be arguing with a four-time Super Bowl champion and decorated Vietnam war veteran. Bleier earned the right to opine.

Ex-Steeler Ryan Clark described the current Steelers thusly on ESPN: “We want to make videos, we want to do TikToks, we want to dance in the locker room, we want to be the team that everyone loves to be around. We want to make jokes, we want to smile, we want to have fun.”

Then, as if on cue, here’s what receiver Chase Claypool suggested to make practice better: “We have music in warmups, so it’s fun. People are dancing, having fun. So, I think maybe music would make practice more fun and a little more up-tempo.”

That’s not a joke: Claypool really said that, and did so the day after Cincinnati stomped the Steelers, 41-10. Could AB Jr. Jr. possibly be any more tone deaf? That’s a world record for clueless.

Coach Mike Tomlin refuted Claypool’s suggestion at Tuesday’s press conference. So did defensive end Cam Heyward when appearing on radio that same morning.

But will Tomlin or Heyward address the matter personally with Claypool? Better yet, do so in front of the team with other young players listening?

The Steelers have had a culture problem since Antonio Brown ran roughshod over Tomlin and the team’s structure. The issue did not leave with Brown. It was passed down to younger narcissists like Claypool and Juju Smith-Schuster who, unfortunately, aren’t nearly as good.

The Steelers are about branding, music, getting a check, living the life.

They’re not about winning. You can tell because they’re not winning.

Sure, they started 11-0 last year. They’re 6-10-1 since.

As Clark said, opposition players go into games vs. the Steelers thinking, “We’re going to win fantasy football for somebody.” Added Clark, “Nobody’s scared to play this team. There’s absolutely no physicality.”

The culture problem is denied, but it’s there. Ex-Steelers are piling on, including Bleier, Clark, Chris Hoke and Arthur Moats.

Those alumni aren’t doing that because the Steelers are losing. The Steelers have lost before. The Steelers went 2-11-1 in Bleier’s rookie season.

Here’s betting those alumni are embarrassed by the Steelers’ culture, and lots more alumni don’t talk because they’re scared of what they would say.

The Steelers have good leaders in Heyward and Ben Roethlisberger. But they lack followers.

Perhaps the Steelers’ culture reflects how most modern-day athletes are.

But why can’t the Steelers be an exception to the rule? They used to be.

What would happen at New England or Tampa Bay if a player suggested playing music at practice in the wake of a 31-point loss to a traditional punching bag?

The me-first self-absorption exemplified by Claypool mostly has been supported by the hoi polloi in the name of having fun. “THEY’RE KIDS! LET ’EM HAVE FUN! FUN, FUN, FUN!”

But was it fun losing to Cincinnati by 31? Was it fun wasting that comeback at Los Angeles? Was tying winless Detroit fun? Has it been fun going 6-10-1 after starting last season 11-0?

Fun in sports should be born of winning. Brad Pitt (as Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane) busted up his clubhouse in a scene from “Moneyball” because the players were having fun after a loss. When the room went silent, Pitt said, “That’s what losing sounds like.”

It’s not supposed to sound like Claypool or like music during practice.

The culture isn’t correctable. Brown passed it down to the current group. The current group will pass it down to the next group.

Tomlin can’t fix it. The enabler can’t suddenly be the fixer.

Tomlin will coach till he quits. So the culture problem isn’t going away. Not unless the Steelers get some really good players.

A ton of talent can neutralize a poor culture. But the Steelers are about 45 players short.