Former Steelers Players Causing Drama Before Training Camp

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are filled with drama right now, but it's all with former players. One who played his entire career in black and gold, and two others who spent less than a full season in Pittsburgh. But everyone is talking as this team moves through the summer and awaits training camp.

Let's start with a former player calling out a former coach. Juan Thornhill, who spent most of the 2025 season with the Steelers before being released as the team pursued other options, made it known that he wasn't a fan of the coach calling plays in Pittsburgh.

Responding to a fan on TikTok, Thornhill called out former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, saying he wasn't a big fan of his.

"I didn’t enjoy playing for that DC," Thornhill said.

Ironically, he's wearing a Steelers uniform in the video.

The Best/Worst Part About These Comments

Look, Thornhill wasn't wrong. Austin had a ton of respect from the players and coaches in Pittsburgh, but there have been numerous occassasions when starters made it clear that communication was an issue, or that they weren't set up to succeed.

So, while Austin was respected, he wasn't neccassarily the best defensive coordinator. At least not for the Steelers' standards.

However, Thornhill was even worse. He played just nine games last season, including one start, but that wasn't by design. This team looked at Thornhill as their starter next to DeShon Elliott after they traded Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins.

Thornhill was supposed to be their guy. He wasn't. So much so, that he became inactive by the time he was done in Pittsburgh, and then played just one game the rest of the season - for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Pittsburgh Steelers' Juan Thornhil — Oct 26, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) scores a touchdown against Pittsburgh Steelers safety Chuck Clark (21) and safety Juan Thornhill (22)during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Maybe he's not the person who should be criticizing coaches.

Then, There's Darius Slay and Ike Taylor

Darius Slay, who spent part of the 2025 season in Pittsburgh, was on NFL Live talking about his former team and teammate, Joey Porter Jr.

He told it as he saw it when asked about Porter.

"I've been there with him in Pittsburgh. His hands are very sus," Slay said. "He's gonna get them right, though... Other than that, Joey is for sure going to be a guy that's going to sneak into this top 10 easily. He's a got a big payday coming up, too. Pittsburgh, make sure you do my boy right."

Former Steelers Super Bowl champion Ike Taylor didn't appreciate that.

"Glad I wasn't in the era for biting da bait," Taylor said through his X account. "An talkn bout the same side of the ball teammate...#inhause."

And once again, it feels like there wasn't enough ground to stand on for the short-lived Steeler.

While Slay didn't say anything that was too much, criticizing Porter's ability to come up with the football seems a bit much. Slayed played just 10 games in Pittsburgh before being released later in the year. He struggled his entire time with the Steelers, while Porter Jr. emerged as the next star corner for the franchise.

Taylor isn't wrong for calling out Slay. Especially in Pittsburgh, there's a bond that runs deep. But you have to be here long enough to understand it. Slay wasn't. Taylor was. And you can tell the difference through their interaction.

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