Steelers RB Najee Harris Says Team Needs ‘In-House’ Changes

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pittsburgh Steelers finished their season with a first-round exit in the postseason, marking seven years without a playoff win under head coach Mike Tomlin. And with a Wild Card loss coming after a back-and-forth season, running back Najee Harris voiced his opinion about change he hopes to see.

Harris spoke after the loss to the Buffalo Bills, saying he believes the Steelers need to make in-house rule changes. Nothing alluding to coaching changes or different players, but being a more “disciplined” organization in efforts to reach higher levels of success moving forward.

“I’ve been here three years, obviously. I have my opinions on things, but I’m just a player. But if you want to elevate and get to where we’re at, there’s got to be some in-house things that need to change,” Harris said. “Coach [Tomlin] always tells me just play running back. That’s a little inside thing that we have too. But if you want to elevate where we are and achieve those goals that we want, we have to change some in-house stuff. Like I said, that’s not my place, that’s not anything that I can control or do anything about that.”

Harris clarified, as mentioned above, that he isn’t speaking of the coaches, but rather what takes place inside the building at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

“In-house rules. Not no changes or coaches or anything like that. Just the rules that are in the building,” Harris said. “We’ve got to be more disciplined. We’ve got to be more committed. I’m not saying that we’re not, but coming from a place that has structure and coming and just seeing, we could probably get help in these areas; make a change. I think that’s something that could help. I’m not saying anything about coaches or anything like that; I’m saying in-house rules.”

The third-year running back said things have been the same since he was drafted, and after three seasons, he’s seen two playoff losses. With hopes of that changing moving forward, and with him being a key piece in the growing success of the team, he’s hoping the team takes his voice seriously when he expresses the changes he hopes to see.

“When I first got here, it was just how things were. I don’t know how it was when I wasn’t here,” Harris said. “I have my opinion on things, but obviously, it doesn’t matter; I’m just a player. The guys in that building know what I’m talking about.”

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