U mad, bro?: Steelers position changes, Mike Tomlin's message, anthem singers, 'Renegade's' failure

Just one loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and already the emails and social media interactions are taking creativity to a new level.

Our first “post-loss” edition of “U mad, bro?” involves position changes, the removal of “Renegade,” complaints about the anthem singer, 30-year-old movie references, 50-year-old musical references, and grandiose statements about the need for sociological change.

You know, pretty standard stuff for this weekly post during Steelers season.

Here’s an exchange I had with Michael about a potential position switch for one of the Steelers’ tight ends.

Ask Tomlin if he would play the big TE, Washington, at inside LB.

— Michael Shettig Construction Manager Pro (@MichaelShettig) September 17, 2025

Um … why would I do that?

Because we need a Levon Kirkland-type athlete to help stop the run.

— Michael Shettig Construction Manager Pro (@MichaelShettig) September 17, 2025

Oh. Got it. Now it makes total sense. I’ll ask him next week before they leave for Ireland.

While I’m at it, I’ll also ask Tomlin if he thinks the Penguins should move Kris Letang to wing and if the Pirates should flip Paul Skenes over to being a full-time hitter.

Patrick draws an interesting analogy for Mike Tomlin.

”Tomlin is like Mike Brady in ‘The Brady Bunch’ movie. He is stuck in the past with only the one design of his house.”

As the kids always said to Mr. Brady, “Hmm. I never thought of it like that.”

“Kev” objected to me discussing the Sidney Crosby trade rumors on 105.9 The X this week.

Sid announces he’s not going anywhere and @TimBenzPGH spends 20 minutes on the @MarkMaddenX show talking about where Sid’s going to land …ok

— Kev Hammer ♻️ (@KevinHammer1)
September 16, 2025

First of all, that’s not true. I never talked about where Crosby may wind up aside from one question to Pierre McGuire on Tuesday. The rest of the time, I was just talking about the trade conversation Crosby’s agent (Pat Brisson) regenerated.

Second, it wasn’t 20 minutes. Pfft! It was more like … 15. OK, 19 at most.

More sports

• History with Eagles tells CB Darius Slay not to be alarmed by Steelers' slow start on defense
• Steelers' Derrick Harmon returns to practice, eager make NFL debut as soon as he can
• Tim Benz: Fuss over Kaleb Johnson's special teams miscue masks a greater problem with RB rotation

Over the weekend, I ripped LSU coach Brian Kelly for flipping out over a reporter’s question about his offense after his team beat Florida. Dustin took Kelly’s side.

“He is 100 percent correct. This is an example of everything wrong with this country.”

Eh, I think there are bigger issues in the country than LSU’s run game.

Like, you know, fixing the Steelers’ rush defense. Now that, that is America’s No. 1 priority. I think we’re all in agreement there.

This guy wasn’t wild about Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden singing the national anthem before the Steelers’ loss to Seattle.

If Donnie Iris sings the anthem, they win. Just saying.

— Local Hero™ (@HofSpillane) September 15, 2025

“Dawny” sang the anthem Sept. 18, 2022, before a game against New England. Take a wild guess how that turned out.

Finally, speaking of music at the stadium, after the Seahawks marched down the field for a touchdown immediately after the video system played “Renegade,” Bart suggested that it was time for a new song.

Should play The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

— Bart (@huckyjo) September 14, 2025

Not a bad idea. Gordon Lightfoot sounds like a guy who would be good at returning kicks.

“The team was the pride of the Pittsburgh side

Coming back from a camp at Saint Vincent

As the defenses go, it sure cost more than most

With Cam holding out for some reason

Concluding Week 2, it was playing like poo

And they just might keep losing till Cleveland

Later that year, it’s .500 I fear

With yet another “L” in the postseason”