Steelers news and commentary Wednesday, February 21st

Welcome to the Terrible Towel Tales, where we’ll highlight some of the latest stories permeating Steelers media for your reading pleasure every Monday through Saturday. In today’s news…

Steelers name Mike Sullivan senior offensive assistant | Alan Saunders, X

Steelers mailbag: Faith in Kenny Pickett fading, plus offseason priorities and more | Mark Kaboly, The Athletic

Who will be the Steelers’ quarterback next year — Paul O.

Pickett, but with a leash a lot shorter than he’s ever had if Rudolph (who is a free agent) returns.

With Rudolph playing the last few games, the Steelers’ offense looked the best it has in years. I loved the long throws, and the running game opened up. Why can’t Mike Tomlin realize this? — Keith O.

Maybe he does. Maybe that’s why he went to Rudolph over Pickett the final few games, even when Pickett was healthy. It is difficult for Tomlin to say that it’s going to be an open competition between Pickett and Rudolph when he doesn’t know whether Rudolph will be back. I say let’s see what happens. If Rudolph comes back and Tomlin still hands the job to Pickett on Day 1 without a chance of losing it, then there’s a real problem.

Ben Roethlisberger Speaks on Bill Cowher’s Coaching: ‘He Treated Me Like a Crappy Rookie’ | Nick Farabaugh, All Steelers

But while he came in as a rookie and led the team to a blazing 15-1 record, he may never have become the player he was without the hard coaching from Bill Cowher. Cowher treated Roethlisberger not like the first-round pick at quarterback, but another mediocre rookie who had to prove his worth.

“He treated me like a crappy rookie,” Roethlisberger said on the Alpha 5 Method Podcast. “He’s admitted it and we’ve talked about it. He’s like, ‘Ben, I could have treated you like the greatest thing since sliced bread and put you up there because you were winning games, or I could have treated you like I did, and I chose that route because I felt like that was what was best for you. It wasn’t like you were with Coach Tomlin. You were like, kind of buddies, could go talk to him or whatever. The old open door policy, I never went in the open door. I didn’t want go in and talk to Coach Cowher. That was the last thing I wanted to do.”