The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 71st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
Their season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–5–1 record from 2002 in which they lost to the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
With the team suffering through injuries as well as less reliance on the running game than normal, the Steelers stumbled to a 6–10 record, going the entire season without winning consecutive games. Since moving to Heinz Field, this marked their first losing season as well as missing the playoffs along with the 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2019. The team's 6–10 finish matched their worst under Bill Cowher (1999).
In his final season with the team, linebacker Jason Gildon became the franchise's career sack leader during a game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 9.
As of 2020, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers, and the most recent time they have lost more than 8 games.
Personnel
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers staff |
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Front office
- Chairman – Daniel M. Rooney
- President – Arthur J. Rooney II
- Vice President – John R. McGinley
- Vice President – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
- Administration Advisor – Chuck Noll
- Director of Business – Mark Hart
- Business Accounting Coordinator – Jim Ellenberger
- Human Relations/Office Coordinator – Geraldine Glenn
- Business Operations – Omar Khan
- Accounting Manager – Jodie Spagnolli
- Communications Coordinator – Ron Wahl
- Public Relations/Media Manager – David Lockett
- Website/Network Administrator – Scott Phelps
- Marketing
- Director of Marketing – Tony Quatrini
- Marketing Coordinator – Rick Giugliano
- Client Services Administrator – Amy Corbett
- Marketing Manager – John Wodarek
- Producer/Broadcasting Manager – Rick Fairbend
- Marketing/Community Relations Manager – Lynne Molyneaux
- Marketing Assistant – John Simpson
- Marketing Assistant – Mike Marchinsky
- Ticket Operations
- Ticket Manager – Ben Lentz
- Season Ticket Assistant – Libby Patcher
- Football Operations
- Director of Football Operations – Kevin Colbert
- College Scouting Coordinator – Ron Hughes
- Pro Scouting Coordinator – Doug Whaley
- Pro/College Scout – Phil Kreidler
- College Scout – Mark Gorscak
- College Scout – Bob Lane
- College Scout – Bruce McNorton
- College Scout – Dan Rooney
- College Scout – Bill Nunn
- BLESTO Scout – Kelvin Fisher
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
- Conditioning Coach – Chet Fuhrman
- Medical Staff
- Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
- Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
- Neurological Surgeon – Dr. Joseph Maroon
- Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze
- Physician, Consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski
- Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
- Training Staff
- Head Athletic Trainer – John Norwig
- Assistant Athletic Trainer – Ryan Grove
- Assistant Athletic Trainer – Ariko Iso
- Football Staff
- Player Development Coordinator – Anthony Griggs
- Equipment Manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
- Field Manager – Rich Baker
- Field/Equipment Assistant – Kalvin Jones
- Video Coordinator – Bob McCartney
- Video Assistant – Andy Lizanich
- Video Assistant – Rob Brakel
- Photographers – Mike Fabus
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Notable additions include Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor.
Roster
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster |
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Practice squad
[2] [3] [4] [5]
Rookies in italics 53 Active, 4 Inactive, 4 Practice squad
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Monday Night Controversy
The team did gain some notoriety during the season. The NFL tried to make it easier on teams after playing a Monday night game by giving every team that was away for a Monday night game either a home game or their bye week the following week. The Steelers were the only team that season to play on the road following a Monday night road game,[6] playing the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 17 before traveling to Cleveland the following week to play against the rival Cleveland Browns on November 23.
While Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was livid at the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game, team president Dan Rooney mentioned that the league putting the Steelers in Cleveland—only 112 miles from Pittsburgh—after flying to the West Coast was somewhat as a compromise to the team.
The Steelers got mixed results from the back-to-back road games on a short week, losing to the 49ers 30–14 in the game the 49ers retired Ronnie Lott's number 42 during halftime, but defeating the Browns 13–6, the latter being the first of the team's twelve-game winning streak against their bitter rivals, which ended in a 2009 game in Cleveland.
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1
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Pittsburgh won their season opener for the first time since 1999.[7]
Scoring summary |
Quarter |
Time |
Drive |
Team |
Scoring information |
Score |
Plays |
Yards |
TOP |
BAL |
PIT |
1 |
10:19 |
10 |
69 |
4:41 |
Steelers |
29-yard field goal by Jeff Reed |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4:01 |
8 |
15 |
3:21 |
Steelers |
31-yard field goal by Jeff Reed |
0 |
6 |
2 |
2:57 |
8 |
90 |
4:08 |
Steelers |
Hines Ward 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good |
0 |
13 |
3 |
9:49 |
8 |
60 |
3:23 |
Steelers |
Jay Riemersma 20-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good |
0 |
20 |
3 |
3:54 |
1 |
28 |
0:07 |
Steelers |
Hines Ward 28-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good |
0 |
27 |
3 |
1:56 |
3 |
80 |
1:58 |
Ravens |
Jamal Lewis 14-yard touchdown run, Matt Stover kick good |
7 |
27 |
4 |
9:01 |
9 |
48 |
3:59 |
Steelers |
Amos Zereoue 8-yard touchdown run, Jeff Reed kick good |
7 |
34 |
4 |
4:22 |
3 |
2 |
1:02 |
Ravens |
Travis Taylor 5-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Boller, 2-point pass good |
15 |
34 |
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. |
15 |
34 |
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Week 2
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
17 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
• Chiefs |
7 |
20 |
7 |
7 |
41 |
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Week 3
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Steelers |
0 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
17 |
Bengals |
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
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Week 4
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Titans |
0 |
16 |
7 |
7 |
30 |
Steelers |
3 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
- Date: September 28
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 63,244
- Game weather: 55°F (Cloudy)
- Referee: Walt Anderson
- TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones
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Week 5
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Browns |
10 |
13 |
7 |
3 |
33 |
Steelers |
0 |
10 |
3 |
0 |
13 |
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Week 6
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
3 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
14 |
• Broncos |
0 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
17 |
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Week 8
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Rams |
7 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
33 |
Steelers |
7 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
21 |
- Date: October 26
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 62,665
- Game weather: 59°F (Light Rain)
- Referee: Johnny Grier
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen & Bill Maas
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This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.
Week 9
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
16 |
• Seahawks |
3 |
3 |
3 |
14 |
23 |
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Week 10
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Cardinals |
0 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
15 |
• Steelers |
0 |
7 |
21 |
0 |
28 |
- Date: November 9
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 59,520
- Game weather: 41°F (Sunny)
- Referee: Jeff Triplette
- TV announcers (Fox): Ron Pitts & Tim Ryan, and Alby Oxenreiter
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Week 11
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
• 49ers |
7 |
3 |
14 |
6 |
30 |
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Week 12
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Steelers |
0 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
13 |
Browns |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
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Week 13
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Bengals |
7 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
24 |
Steelers |
0 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
20 |
- Date: November 30
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 58,797
- Game weather: 46°F (Sunny)
- Referee: Bernie Kukar
- TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
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Week 14
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Raiders |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
• Steelers |
0 |
17 |
7 |
3 |
27 |
- Date: December 7
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 53,079
- Game weather: 30°F (Partly Cloudy)
- Referee: Johnny Grier
- TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
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Week 15
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
• Jets |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
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Week 16
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Chargers |
0 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
24 |
• Steelers |
14 |
7 |
7 |
12 |
40 |
- Date: December 21
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 52,527
- Game weather: 37°F (Sunny)
- Referee: Bill Carollo
- TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
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Week 17
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
OT |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
• Ravens |
7 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
- Date: December 28
- Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
- Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 70,001
- Referee: Walt Anderson
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber
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Standings
Honors and awards
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References
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Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
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Franchise |
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Stadiums |
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Culture |
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Lore |
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Rivalries |
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Media |
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Division championships (24) |
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Conference championships (8) |
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League championships (6) |
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Retired numbers |
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Hall of Fame members |
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Current league affiliations |
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