Recently, Cleveland Browns legend Joshua Cribbs revealed why he never wanted to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. As the 2026 season nears, the former wide receiver reflected on the rivalry between the two teams.

During an appearance on the BigPlay Cleveland podcast, Cribbs shared his thoughts on playing for the Steelers. His comments came as the AFC North enters a new era following Mike Tomlin's departure from Pittsburgh.

"After a while, you would have seen that it was a business and football, if I would've made that move. I respected [Mike] Tomlin, playing against him twice a year every year,” Cribbs said on Wednesday. “ I just couldn't do it; I was bred from Cleveland and bred into hating the Black and Gold and so I couldn't do that."

Cribbs mentioned on the Bigplay podcast that he grew up in Washington, D.C. But he built deep roots in Northeast Ohio through Kent State and the Browns, spending 12 seasons in the region between college and the NFL. 

The 2010 game between the Browns and the Steelers did not help.

According to the Associated Press, Steelers linebacker James Harrison recorded a legal helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked Cribbs unconscious. Harrison later said he tried to "hurt people," although he did not intend to seriously injure them.

According to a report by Steelers Now, Cribbs praised Pittsburgh's past consistency under head coach Mike Tomlin, but he made it clear that the division feels different entering 2026.

"I'm so ready for football season. I'm so ready because this division doesn't scare me," Cribbs stated. "We don't have Tomlin. It is nothing to take away from the Steelers and McCarthy. He's [McCarthy] a valuable coach. But Tomlin had a winning season every year. He was in the thick of it every year now…. I'm gonna always say this. I never say we look good on paper. We gotta go out there and actually do it."

Cribbs spent years playing in one of the NFL's biggest rivalries. Now, he is starting a new chapter as a coach at Kent State.

Kent State role gives Cribbs a new way to shape football's future

Joshua Cribbs' competitive fire has followed him into his coaching career. Kent State head coach Mark Carney is looking to strengthen his staff following CJ Conrad's move to the Miami Dolphins. The university hired Cribbs as a special teams analyst this April.

"He [Carney] wants to win," Cribbs said, per the Akron Beacon Journal. "So, if I'm a head coach, I want the best people around me. I want the best quarterback coach, the best coordinators, everything. And my take is Coach wants to win. He wants to surround himself with people that are going to win, but not just people that are going to win, but people that are going to buy into what he's selling."

The reunion brought Cribbs back to the program, where he became one of the school's biggest football stars. Carney viewed his experience, leadership, and passion for Kent State as valuable additions to a team working to build on last season's progress.

Carney was impressed with Cribbs after watching the latter lead a meeting and run drills during spring practice. Kent State later hired him as an at-will employee with a reported $75,000 salary, making him the staff's only coach with "special teams" in his title.

For Cribbs, coaching is a way to share what he learned during his playing career.

Can that same passion help the next generation, as the Browns and Steelers will face each other in October? What do you think? Let us know!

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Written by

Shreya Mishra

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit