Roethlisberger Uses Titans' Futility to Focus His Team

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roehtlisberger referenced the Tennessee Titans’ continuing quest to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy in an attempt to motivate his own team this week.

The Titans, founded in 1960 as the Houston Oilers, are one of 12 NFL franchises that have never won a Super Bowl. The closest they came was in 1999, when they reached Super Bowl XXXIV but lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams in a memorable finish.

Roethlisberger pointed to one of the most prominent people in Oilers/Titans history to try to create a sense of urgency in his own locker room during a players-only meeting.

“We used Coach Mike Munchak as an example, a guy that spent 30-plus years in the NFL playing and coaching and was only a part of one Super Bowl,” Roethlisberger said. “I just wanted guys to understand and to reiterate how important this time of year is.

"Playoffs aren't guaranteed to anybody. It wasn't a players-only panic meeting. … This is a meeting that we felt was necessary moving forward into the postseason."

Munchak, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was a first-round pick by the Oilers in 1982 and spent his entire 12-year career with them.

After that, he moved into coaching and spent 17 years as an assistant (14 as offensive line coach) before he replaced Jeff Fisher as head coach. Munchak went 22-26 in three seasons as head coach but did not take Tennessee to the postseason.

He was a part of seven playoff teams during his playing career and six as an assistant coach.

After he left the Titans, Munchak spent five seasons as offensive line coach with the Steelers (2014-18). Pittsburgh, which is tied with New England for the most Super Bowl wins (six), made the playoffs in four of those seasons but never advanced past the conference championship. He is currently in his second season as offensive line coach for Denver.

The Steelers started this season with 11 straight victories and looked like the team to beat for much of that time. Since, they have lost their last three.

"We're getting ready to go into the playoffs,” Roethlisberger said. “I had the guys raise their hands of who has played in a playoff game and who hasn't. It was over half the guys that haven't played in a playoff game. It's important the veteran guys, the guys that have, communicate what it's like.”

And to point out that not everyone wins a Super Bowl, even if they spend decades trying.