The coaching staff may have changed but the blueprint for constructing a Super Bowl team remains the same.
"I said it my first year I got here, we want to be able to impose our will on people and be able to break them in the second half of games," assistant general manager Andy Weidl maintained.
Weidl got his NFL start as a player personnel assistant with the Steelers in 1998-99.
He returned to the organization in May of 2022, a couple of days after Omar Khan had taken over as the Steelers' general manager.
The Steelers have been investing a great deal of time, effort and football capital in fortifying the offensive and defensive lines ever since.
"We have," Weidl continued. "We put a lot of resources into these players and draft picks. We've signed in free agency, as well. We want to be strong there, always.
"Build through the line of scrimmage and control the line of scrimmage, you have a chance to win a lot of games. It starts up front."
It started in the Khan-Weidl era with the drafting of offensive tackle Broderick Jones (14th overall), defensive tackle Keeanu Benton (second round), tight end Darnell Washington (third round) and offensive lineman Spencer Anderson (seventh round) in 2023.
In 2024, the Steelers selected offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (20th overall), center Zach Frazier (second round), guard Mason McCormick (fourth round) and defensive lineman Logan Lee (sixth round).
In 2025, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (21st overall) and defensive tackle Yahya Black (fifth round) were added via the draft.
And this past April, the Steelers brought offensive tackle Max Iheanachor (21st overall), guard Gennings Dunker (third round), fullback Riley Nowakowski (fifth round) and defensive lineman Gabe Rubio (sixth round) into the mix.
They're better positioned now, Weidl suspects, to become the team they aspire to be in the wake of such repeated attempts to draft and develop up front.
"I think so," Weidl agreed. "With the growth and development that we have, the players that we brought in here, we're bigger on our defensive line. We're excited about our depth. We like our offensive line, the depth we have there. We've seen the growth out of our draft picks.
"They have to continue to grow and continue to get better, they're young. We'll see how they do, we have another test coming up Friday night (against the Jets) and next week (at Buffalo).
"We want to see continued growth and development from those offensive and defensive linemen."
Weidl has seen firsthand how such growth and development can turn from theory into a championship practice.
"The two places I've been that won Super Bowls, we had two waves come in," he remembered. "Philadelphia and Baltimore, we had two waves of defensive line.
"It's nice to have that. It keeps your guys fresh so that when you get into December, January football, you're able to surge. Your guys are fresh, you can roll guys through and you're able to surge into December, January football and, hopefully, into the playoffs.
"That's why we invest there."
On the other side of the ball, investment is necessary because offensive line depth is equally coveted, seemingly, across the NFL.
"We always look at it, since I've been doing it, offensive line, people are looking for 'Y' (in-line) tight ends," Weidl said. "It's a league that, we invest in the offensive line so we're heavy there. We come in with good depth.
"Offensive line, corners, defensive backs, they tend to suffer a lot of attrition during the year. Your depth is going to be tested. It's going to be tested at every position, but those in particular. You want to make sure you have numbers."
In 2024, the Steelers selected offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (20th overall), center Zach Frazier (second round), guard Mason McCormick (fourth round) and defensive lineman Logan Lee (sixth round).
In 2025, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (21st overall) and defensive tackle Yahya Black (fifth round) were added via the draft.
And this past April, the Steelers brought offensive tackle Max Iheanachor (21st overall), guard Gennings Dunker (third round), fullback Riley Nowakowski (fifth round) and defensive lineman Gabe Rubio (sixth round) into the mix.
They're better positioned now, Weidl suspects, to become the team they aspire to be in the wake of such repeated attempts to draft and develop up front.
"I think so," Weidl agreed. "With the growth and development that we have, the players that we brought in here, we're bigger on our defensive line. We're excited about our depth. We like our offensive line, the depth we have there. We've seen the growth out of our draft picks.
"They have to continue to grow and continue to get better, they're young. We'll see how they do, we have another test coming up Friday night (against the Jets) and next week (at Buffalo).
"We want to see continued growth and development from those offensive and defensive linemen."
Weidl has seen firsthand how such growth and development can turn from theory into a championship practice.
"The two places I've been that won Super Bowls, we had two waves come in," he remembered. "Philadelphia and Baltimore, we had two waves of defensive line.
"It's nice to have that. It keeps your guys fresh so that when you get into December, January football, you're able to surge. Your guys are fresh, you can roll guys through and you're able to surge into December, January football and, hopefully, into the playoffs.
"That's why we invest there."
On the other side of the ball, investment is necessary because offensive line depth is equally coveted, seemingly, across the NFL.
"We always look at it, since I've been doing it, offensive line, people are looking for 'Y' (in-line) tight ends," Weidl said. "It's a league that, we invest in the offensive line so we're heavy there. We come in with good depth.
"Offensive line, corners, defensive backs, they tend to suffer a lot of attrition during the year. Your depth is going to be tested. It's going to be tested at every position, but those in particular. You want to make sure you have numbers."
