2009 Pittsburgh Steelers season
| 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Head coach | Mike Tomlin |
| General manager | Kevin Colbert |
| Owner | The Rooney Family |
| Home field | Heinz Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC North |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | NT Casey Hampton OLB James Harrison TE Heath Miller OLB Lamar Woodley |
| AP All-Pros | Lamar Woodley (2nd team) James Harrison (2nd team) |
| Team MVP | Ben Roethlisberger |
| Team ROY | Mike Wallace |
The 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 77th season in the National Football League (NFL). They were coming off a season in which they compiled a 12–4 regular season record and capped the season by winning the franchise's record sixth Super Bowl. The team's coaching staff remained the same for the third consecutive year.
As the defending champions, the Steelers opened the season by hosting the NFL Kickoff Game on Thursday, September 10, 2009, which was an overtime victory against the Tennessee Titans. The team compiled a 6–2 record over the season's first half, but then began a five-game losing streak which included losses to all three division opponents. Three late wins led to a 9–7 record, but the team failed to qualify for the playoffs. This was the third straight time the team has missed the playoffs following a Super Bowl victory; 1980 and 2006 being the previous two.
The front office's major goals coming into the off-season were to retain the bulk of the team's own free agents and to look to add talent primarily through the draft rather than free agent acquisitions. This has been the team's primary philosophy since Chuck Noll took over as head coach in 1969. The other major item on the team's agenda was to extend the contracts of a few of the players who were coming into the final year of their contracts – chief among these were linebacker and 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison, tight end Heath Miller, and tackle Max Starks.
Management completed the highest-priority item on its off-season checklist by reaching agreement with Harrison on a six-year, $51.175 million contract, which includes $20 million in guaranteed money. The team was also successful in extending the contracts of Starks (four years, $26.3 million) and Miller (six years, $35.3 million) both of whom were potential free agents after the season. Additionally, contract extension were completed with receiver Hines Ward (five years, $22.1 million), guard Chris Kemoeatu (five years, $20 million), center Justin Hartwig (4 years, $10 million) and defensive end Brett Kiesel (5 years, $18.885 million).
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