1988 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
---|---|
Owner | The Rooney Family |
General manager | Dick Haley |
Head coach | Chuck Noll |
Home field | Three Rivers Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 5–11 |
Division place | 4th AFC Central |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | OT Tunch Ilkin |
AP All-Pros | None |
Team MVP | David Little Rod Woodson |
Team ROY | Warren Williams |
The 1988 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 56th in the National Football League. Hall of Fame team founder and owner Art Rooney died at age 87 less than two weeks before the start of the season on August 25. The team wore AJR patches on the left shoulder the entire season in memory of "The Chief".
The team finished the season at 5–11 failing to improve on their 8–7 record from 1987, and had their worst record since finishing an NFL-worst 1–13 in 1969. As of 2024, the 5–11 mark remains the team's worst record since 1969, and they have only finished with ten losses twice since, in 1999 and 2003.
The Steelers got off to a disappointing start. After winning their home opener against the Dallas Cowboys, the team lost six straight, their first six-game losing streak since 1969. The team never recovered after the skid, and at one point had a 2–10 record after a 27–7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. It was the Steelers worst start to a season since the merger. The Steelers did, however, finish the season on a positive note, winning 3 of their last 4 games to finish the season 5–11. To date, this represents the only time since the AFL-NFL merger the Steelers have finished the season last place in their division.
During the season, due to the team's struggles there were calls from the media and fans for longtime head coach Chuck Noll to step down, particularly after an embarrassing loss to the eventual AFC champions Cincinnati Bengals 42–7. Following that game, Noll said that everyone "should go out and get law degrees", in reference to cornerback Dwayne Woodruff having recently passed the bar exam in preparation for his law career after he retired as well as Woodruff's bad game against the Bengals. [1]
Following the season, Noll intended to resign until defensive line coach Joe Greene got word and informed Dan Rooney (who had considered firing Noll), [2] leading to Rooney and Noll to make some compromises. In exchange for lifetime employment with the team (Noll would be listed in media guides as an administrative advisor from his retirement from coaching until his death in 2014), Noll agreed to part ways with several members of his coaching staff. [3]
One negative side effect to Noll making changes to his coaching staff was the loss of defensive coordinator Tony Dungy. Rooney wanted Dungy demoted to defensive backs coach, but Dungy opted to leave for the Kansas City Chiefs, taking the same position with that team and working under their defensive coordinator—and Noll's eventual replacement--Bill Cowher. While Dungy would go on to have a Hall of Fame career as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts, the loss of Dungy likely delayed his eventual ascension to head coach in the NFL. [4]
1988 Pittsburgh Steelers draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
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1 | 17 | Aaron Jones | Defensive end | Eastern Kentucky | |
2 | 44 | Dermontti Dawson * † | Center | Kentucky | |
3 | 70 | Chuck Lanza | Center | Notre Dame | |
5 | 121 | Darin Jordan | Linebacker | Northeastern | |
5 | 128 | Jerry Reese | Defensive end | Kentucky | |
6 | 155 | Warren Williams | Running back | Miami (FL) | |
7 | 182 | Marc Zeno | Wide receiver | Tulane | |
8 | 209 | Mark Nichols | Nose tackle | Michigan State | |
8 | 211 | Mike Hinnant | Tight end | Temple | |
9 | 236 | Gordon Lockbaum | Running back | Holy Cross | |
10 | 252 | John Jackson | Offensive tackle | Eastern Kentucky | |
11 | 295 | Bobby Dawson | Defensive back | Illinois | |
12 | 322 | James Earle | Linebacker | Clemson | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Tolbert Bain | Safety | Miami (FL) |
Tim Calcagno | Offensive tackle | Southwestern Louisiana |
Brian Cobb | Wide receiver | Rutgers |
John Dominic | Nose tackle | Syracuse |
Herb Gainer | Wide receiver | Florida State |
Andy Garczynski | Wide receiver | Temple |
Pete Giftopoulos | Linebacker | Penn State |
Jonathan Green | Running back | Waynesburg |
Earnest Jones | Running back | Virginia Tech |
Greg Lee | Defensive back | Arkansas State |
Jeff Markland | Tight end | Illinois |
Keith Mattioli | Wide receiver | Virginia |
Cassius Osborn | Wide receiver | Georgia |
Mark Sindlinger | Center | Iowa |
Dwight Sistrunk | Safety | Iowa |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
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The Steelers saw two of its last three remaining players who won all four Super Bowls retire in wide receiver John Stallworth and strong safety Donnie Shell, who were both from the team's famous Class of 1974 that saw four players go on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (although Shell was undrafted, he was still from the same rookie class), and in the case of Stallworth, retired as the team's all-time leading receiver. (Stallworth's record was surpassed by Hines Ward in 2005.)
Mike Webster, who was also from the Class of 1974, entered the season as the sole remaining member of all four Super Bowl teams. However, change appeared to be imminent when the team drafted Kentucky guard Dermontti Dawson in the second round of the 1988 draft. Although Dawson would be playing guard his rookie season alongside Webster, it was apparent that Dawson was drafted to be groomed as Webster's eventual replacement at center. Webster would be released by the Steelers in the following offseason, officially ending the team's link to all four Super Bowl clubs.
To the delight of Steelers fans, and even most of the players, the Mark Malone era officially ended in the offseason as well. Malone, who had lost the starting quarterback job to Bubby Brister the previous year, was traded to the San Diego Chargers during the offseason. Malone had also become hugely unpopular with fans and teammates for blaming his mistakes on other players and acting as if he were the "heir" to the QB position after the retirement of Terry Bradshaw. At one point, a locker room fight between Malone and the rest of the team ensued before being broken up by veteran offensive tackle Tunch Ilkin.
Week | Date | Opponent | Game site | Kickoff (ET) | TV | Result | Record |
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1 | Fri. Aug. 5 | at Washington Redskins | RFK Stadium | 8:00 p.m. | WTAE | W 44–31 | 1–0 |
2 | Sun. Aug. 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | Three Rivers Stadium | 8:00 p.m. | WTAE | W 21–16 | 2–0 |
3 | Sat. Aug. 20 | at New York Giants | Giants Stadium | 8:00 p.m. | WTAE | L 28–17 | 2–1 |
4 | Sat. Aug. 27 | at New Orleans Saints | Louisiana Superdome | 12:30 p.m. | ABC | W 31–28 | 3–1 |
Week | Date | Opponent | Game site | Kickoff (ET) | TV | Result | Record |
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1 | Sun. Sep. 4 | Dallas Cowboys | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | CBS | W 24–21 | 1–0 |
2 | Sun. Sep. 11 | at Washington Redskins | RFK Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 30–29 | 1–1 |
3 | Sun. Sep. 18 | Cincinnati Bengals | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 17–12 | 1–2 |
4 | Sun. Sep. 25 | at Buffalo Bills | Rich Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 36–28 | 1–3 |
5 | Sun. Oct. 2 | Cleveland Browns | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 23–9 | 1–4 |
6 | Sun. Oct. 9 | at Phoenix Cardinals | Sun Devil Stadium | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | L 31–14 | 1–5 |
7 | Sun. Oct. 16 | Houston Oilers | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 34–14 | 1–6 |
8 | Sun. Oct. 23 | Denver Broncos | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 39–21 | 2–6 |
9 | Sun. Oct. 30 | at New York Jets | Giants Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 24–20 | 2–7 |
10 | Sun. Nov. 6 | at Cincinnati Bengals | Riverfront Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 42–7 | 2–8 |
11 | Sun. Nov. 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | CBS | L 27–26 | 2–9 |
12 | Sun. Nov. 20 | at Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 27–7 | 2–10 |
13 | Sun. Nov. 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 16–10 | 3–10 |
14 | Sun. Dec. 4 | at Houston Oilers | Astrodome | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN | W 37–34 | 4–10 |
15 | Sun. Dec. 11 | at San Diego Chargers | Jack Murphy Stadium | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | L 20–14 | 4–11 |
16 | Sun. Dec. 18 | Miami Dolphins | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 40–24 | 5–11 |
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Scoring drives:
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Scoring drives:
Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bengals | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
Steelers | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA
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Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Steelers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Bengals | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio
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AFC Central | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Cincinnati Bengals (1) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 448 | 329 | W1 |
Cleveland Browns (4) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 304 | 288 | W1 |
Houston Oilers (5) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 424 | 365 | L1 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 336 | 421 | W1 |
The National Football League playoffs for the 1989 season began on December 31, 1989. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV, 55–10, on January 28, 1990, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1988 season began on December 24, 1988. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, 20–16, on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Walter Andrew "Bubby" Brister III is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, and Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and Northeast Louisiana Indians before being selected in the third round of the 1986 NFL draft by the Steelers.
The 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 37th in the National Football League. It would mark a turning point of the Steelers franchise. 1969 was the first season for Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll, the first season for defensive lineman "Mean Joe" Greene and L. C. Greenwood, the first season for longtime Steelers public relations director Joe Gordon, and the team's last season in Pitt Stadium before moving into then-state-of-the-art Three Rivers Stadium the following season.
The 1970 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 38th in the National Football League. They improved from a league-worst 1–13 record the previous year, finishing with a 5–9 record and third place in the newly formed AFC Central. The Steelers began the decade in a new conference and a new stadium with a new quarterback. After nearly 40 years in the NFL they shifted to the AFC, to complete the merger between the NFL and AFL. It was the NFL’s weakest division that season, as the Steelers finished three games behind the first place Cincinnati Bengals — a team that was only in its third year of existence.
The 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 39th in the National Football League. The Steelers showed improvement finishing in second place in the AFC Central Division with a 6–8 record. Terry Bradshaw struggled with turnovers in his second season throwing 22 interceptions to 13 touchdown passes. The Steelers that year drafted wide receiver Frank Lewis, Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham, guard Gerry Mullins, defensive end Dwight White, tight end/tackle Larry Brown, defensive tackle Ernie Holmes, and safety Mike Wagner, all key contributors during the Steelers Super Bowl teams of the 1970s.
The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League.
The 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 45th in the National Football League. The 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers failed to improve on their 10-4 record from 1976 and finished with a 9-5 record; however, they appeared in the playoffs for their 6th straight season and won the AFC Central again. They had a hard time for most of the season as their record hovered around .500. Even the Steel Curtain seemed to have a little wear and tear allowing 243 points on the season, more than 100 more than the previous season. The sloppy plays would catch up with them in the Divisional Playoffs when they were knocked off by the Broncos 34–21 in Denver.
The 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 49th in the National Football League. After enduring an injury plagued 9–7 season the previous year and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Steelers had hoped that the 1980 season was just a small hiatus from contending for championships. However, while the Steelers had flashes of their former glory years after starting the season with 2 unimpressive losses, the 1981 season would end in an 8–8 record and eventually prove the end of the Steelers great dynasty of the 1970s. The Steelers had a chance to make the playoffs with an 8–5 start to the year but lost all of their last three games to miss the playoffs.
The 1987 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 55th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. The team improved from a 6–10 record from 1986 and finishing 8–7 record and fail to reach the playoffs for a third straight season. Noll was renowned as a stoic character, but in complete contrast was his reaction to Jerry Glanville, the head coach of the Oilers. After the Steelers second meeting, Noll in the postgame handshake grabbed Glanville and told him he'd better watch out or he'd get jumped on. This was in reaction to Glanville's earlier comments on how the Oilers field was the 'house of pain' and his prediction that his players would intentionally hurt the Steelers.
The 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 57th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. They were considered a rebuilding team filled with many young players, especially after the release of longtime center Mike Webster in the offseason. The young team showed its inexperience in the first game of the season, when they lost at home to the archrival Cleveland Browns 51–0. The loss marked the Steelers worst defeat in franchise history. The following week wasn't much better, losing 41–10 to another division rival, the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
The 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 36th in the National Football League.
The 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 58th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 1991 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 59th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL).
The 1992 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 60th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 1993 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 61st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 62nd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 1995 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 63rd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL).
The 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 64th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 1960 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 28th in the National Football League. They compiled a 5–6–1 record and a fifth-place finish under head coach Buddy Parker while playing their home games at Forbes Field.
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