2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 74th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the 7th season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 15th and last under head coachBill Cowher, as he retired on January 5, 2007. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 2005 and also failed to defend their Super Bowl XL championship, Instead, they finished the season with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. In the first half of the season, the Steelers record was 2–6. However, the team dramatically improved during the second half of the season, flipping their record from the first eight games and going 6–2 in their last eight.

This was the first season since 1995 that Jerome Bettis was not on the opening day roster, as he retired after Super Bowl 40.