The Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce the next step for the nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 later this month when the list of semifinalists is revealed.
It's a list that should no doubt include multiple Steelers, but they should not stop there.
They should be Gold Jacket recipients.
Among those in the running this year that their former teammates, including some who earned a Gold Jacket themselves, think should be in the Hall of Fame are linebacker James Harrison, center Maurkice Pouncey and receiver Hines Ward.
"They are so deserving of putting on a Gold Jacket like I'm lucky to have," said Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca, a member of the Class of 2021. "James, just on the Super Bowl run alone, James gets into the Hall of Fame. But he had a stellar career, an amazing career. Pouncey was a leader in the middle for so long and did it at such a high level.
"And then Hines, hands down one of the best players of his era. People tuned in to watch him and the things he was able to do, watching a lot of the highlights. Nobody had the ball in their hands inside the 10-yard line and got into the end zone more because he smelt the end zone and was going to do everything he could to get into the end zone when he got that close."
Harrison, who was a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist three times (2023-25), was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year during the 2008 Super Bowl season, finishing the season with 16 sacks, a team record at the time that has since been surpassed by T.J. Watt.
"James Harrison is one of the most iconic football players of all time," said former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor Class of 2025. "He's a game changer. You don't get too many guys on defense, at outside linebacker, that can change a game at any moment.
"If it was a passing situation, there was a good chance we were getting the ball back, because of James Harrison. He struck fear in the hearts of a lot of quarterbacks. He definitely deserves to be in."
He was voted first-team Associated Press All-Pro twice, a Pro Bowl selection five consecutive years (2007-11) and twice voted Steelers MVP (2007-08). His 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII was a legendary play he will forever be remembered for.
Harrison, who originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2002, played 14 seasons with the team and has 80.5 career sacks.
"James was special," said Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, a member of the Class of 2015. "He was a phenomenon. He came out of nowhere and he took the entire league by storm.
"He has two Steelers MVP honors and NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He's got the credentials. I think it's just a matter of time before he's in. But the clock needs to speed up because these guys need to be in."
Pouncey, who is in his first year of eligibility, was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the 18th overall pick. Shortly after Pouncey arrived at Saint Vincent College for his rookie training camp, he earned the starting job, and he held it from that day until he decided to end his NFL career.
"When it comes to Pounce, I'll probably start crying because of how much he means to me," said Roethlisberger. "That guy's a no brainer. He's first ballot. I love that guy.
"He had so much heart and passion for the game, for protecting his quarterback, for being the greatest. He just took pride in his work, and he worked his butt off both on and off the field. In the classroom, he studied, he knew it, so he wasn't just physically gifted, which we all know he was. He was mentally sharp on the football field. He just didn't make mistakes."
In his rookie season he would stabilize a position previously held by journeymen Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig for a team that went on to reach Super Bowl XLV. Pouncey was unable to play in the Super Bowl after injuring an ankle in the AFC Championship Game victory over the New York Jets. He won the Joe Greene Great Performance Award that season, given annually to the team's Rookie of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America, becoming the first offensive lineman to win it since 2000.
Pouncey didn't need much time to establish himself as a starter in the NFL, and he quickly built on his growing resume. He became the first center in NFL history to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons (2010-12) and went on to be a nine-time Pro Bowl selection. He was twice voted first-team Associated Press All-Pro (2011, 2014) and was a second-team AP All-Pro selection three times (2010, 2012 and 2018).
Pouncey was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade team for the 2010s, an honor Steelers Hall of Fame center Mike Webster earned in the 1970s and 1980s, with a spot on an All-Decade team typically leading to being enshrined in Canton.
"When you look at centers in his era, he was one of the best to ever play," said Bettis. "I would hope that he would get that consideration for first ballot, because if there was a guy who did all the things that he did, show me that person.
"In his era, he's one of best ever."
Ward, who was a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist nine straight years (2017-25), played 14 seasons for the Steelers, after being selected in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft.
"Hines is a receiver I got to spend a lot of time with," said Roethlisberger. "He's really special to this team, this organization, because he did so much more than just catch passes. He was a leader. He was a blocker. He did everything it took to be selfless when it came to this team.
"When the ball was close, we made a catch. I mean, when Hines would drop a pass, it made everyone stop because he was just so sure-handed and so special. He definitely deserves be in."
He had 1,000 career receptions for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. His versatility was always on display with his blocking ability a shining example of that.
Ward was the MVP of Super Bowl XL after leading the Steelers to a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. In three Super Bowls, Ward registered 14 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steelers 2008 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee, Ward was named to four Pro Bowls (2002-05) and was a member of the team's 75th Season All-Time Team. Ward was selected by his teammates as the Steelers MVP three times in his career, including 2002 along with Joey Porter, 2003, and 2005 with Casey Hampton.
"When you look at his career, he got caught in two different eras," said Bettis. "But he was one of the best ever to be in the era that I played in, in terms of being a receiver who was physical, who could block, who could do everything. He was also a deep threat. He could literally do it all.
"The one thing I think people look at now is the numbers and the amount of catches and yards. But Hines Ward was much more than that. I think he's not getting a fair look because of what the numbers have gone to in this new era.
"He was one of the best ever do it. He played in a physical era where the wide receiver had to be the blocker, the receiver, the deep threat. He had to do it all, and he could do it. That's what made him so special. He got caught in the last part of his career in the numbers era where all these receivers are having a hundred catches for 1,500, 1,600 yards. But they're not doing the things that Hines was doing.
"When you look at his career in full totality, he was one of the special few receivers who had the ability to do it all, and highlighting the fact that he was the most ferocious blocking receiver that I believe the NFL has ever seen. You put all that in one package, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."
