The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin have a special chapter to themselves in the history books. Though the team dimmed towards the end of his tenure as head coach, this is still one of the most winningest teams in the NFL. But there has to be something more for players to build their connection to the city they are playing for. To former Steelers tackle Breiden Fehoko, Pittsburgh never offered him a worthy reason.

“The football was great,” he said on the Honor The Land podcast. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time there with Mike Tomlin. But when you talk about a living situation in Pittsburgh, I was miserable. It’s very depressing to be there, especially in the wintertime, when there’s no sunlight and the sun is kind of setting at 3:30 pm. They talk about this place called Primanti Bros., one of the worst sandwiches I’ve ever had.

“I mean no disrespect to Pittsburgh fans, but all they eat is bread. It’s a lot better than eating Skyline chili in Cincinnati, I’ll tell you, that rubbish out there is horrible. But I mean, outside of just the living situation, football is great in Pittsburgh. I was glad to spend time there.”

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Pittsburgh’s winters aren’t easy, especially for someone who spent most of his life in tropical weather. The Steel City ranks among the cloudiest in the United States, with more than 200 cloudy or mostly cloudy days each year. Afternoons are gloomy and feel shorter because the sun sets so early.

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Breiden Fehoko grew up in Hawai’i. He attended college in the hot South (Texas Tech and LSU), and then came to Pittsburgh. No wonder he found all that grey unimpressing.

The gloomy weather also dictates the Steelers’ home games at Acrisure Stadium. Their December and January home games regularly feature bad weather, and temperatures dipping below the 20s. The coldest home game in franchise history came in December 1989 against the New England Patriots, when temperatures dropped to 5 degrees. Another brutal home game for the Steelers came on Christmas Eve in 2022 against the Las Vegas Raiders, with temperatures dropping to 8 degrees.

Breiden Fehoko began his career with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent. Southern California’s balmy climate and scenic coastline were far better than Pittsburgh’s climate. There’s also a thriving Polynesian community here. It was only in 2023 that Fehoko moved to the Steel City.

When the Steelers re-signed Feheko in 2025, he said that Pittsburgh was “home.” But he’s now moved his base to Dallas, dismantling that idea entirely. His stint in Pittsburgh hardly helped matters either. 

Breiden Fehoko also had a difficult stint with the Steelers

Breiden Fehoko spent over two years with the Steelers under Mike Tomlin. But while Fehoko spent parts of the 2023 and 2024 seasons on the Steelers’ active roster, he never played in a regular-season game for the team. The Steelers kept him primarily on the practice squad. In August 2024, the Steelers even placed him on injured reserve before eventually releasing him with an injury settlement.

Last year, before returning to Pittsburgh for training camp, Fehoko had already considered retirement. He still chose to continue his NFL career under Mike Tomlin, hoping for an opportunity to play in his sixth NFL season. He’d even cut his weight down by 37 pounds. However, the Steelers released him again before the 2025 regular season started. 

By November, with no team signing him, Fehoko officially retired from the NFL at just 29.

At that point, retirement probably felt inevitable for Breiden Fehoko. Always bouncing between practice squads can frustrate any player trying to establish stability in the NFL. Add injuries, roster uncertainty, and several gloomy Pittsburgh winters to the equation, and it becomes understandable why Fehoko decided it was time to walk away.