Fresh off another disappointing, frustrating loss in the first round of the AFC playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers gathered for their usual team meeting to close the season on Tuesday afternoon at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.
Many, including long snapper Christian Kuntz, believed it was going to be business as usual in which they’d have the year-end meeting, clean out their lockers and go into the offseason with plenty of frustration to drive them.
But that meeting took a shocking turn for the players inside the locker room. As is well known at this point, longtime head coach Mike Tomlin told his players he was stepping down as head coach, ending a 19-year run.