Over the last two weeks, Steelers Nation has watched the team mind-blowingly lose back-to-back games to the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots, two of the worst teams in the league this season. Even worse, both losses were in Pittsburgh.
Not surprisingly, fans targeted the offense, Kenny Pickett, Diontae Johnson, Najee Harris, George Pickens and even former offensive coordinator Matt Canada for the inexcusable losses and lackluster effort, regardless of injuries or frustrations.
But before Thursday night’s debacle against the Patriots, a sentiment began to simmer that eventually boiled over on Friday morning.
Fire Mike Tomlin.
The Steelers have one of the best defenses in the league, and the team proved that again by completely shutting down the Pats in the second half.
But Pittsburgh’s offense continues to let its defense and fans worldwide down this season, and the losses to the Cardinals and Patriots over the past two weeks were no exception.
Mitch Trubisky continued the Matt Canada-cursed offense’s poor reads and blew two fourth downs that could have won the game against New England. The refs played a part in the loss with a suspect call against Pittsburgh on a punt play where the Pats jumped offsides but the long-snapper was shockingly called for a false start. But that doesn’t excuse the two blown reads by Trubisky.
Social media has been going off on Diontae’s poor effort and Picken’s sulking, and that’s understandable. Although as it relates to the latter, I think criticisms of the young talent are unfair because the way the team has misused and ignored him this season is criminal.
And yes, questions surround Pickett regarding whether he’s the answer under center, but that’s not entirely fair for he’s been hampered by Canada’s horrid system for two years.
But now some are ridiculously attacking Mike Tomlin and calling for his firing.
Has Tomlin made mistakes this season and during his career? Absolutely.
He kept Matt Canada this season instead of hiring a true offensive coordinator after last season who could design an offense that adheres to the current NFL trends and one that could also help Pickett’s development.
Tomlin’s strength and weakness is his loyalty, a trait ingrained in the Steelers’ culture. But failing to adapt to the league’s shift toward dynamic, creative passing offenses instead of leading with defense is something Tomlin has to take accountability for.
But that’s not a fireable offense, especially when you consider the Steelers over the last five years.
Yes, the team hasn’t experienced playoff success during this time, but Pittsburgh has never experienced a losing season during Tomlin’s seventeen-year tenure, and that’s something many dismiss because it hasn’t led to playoff wins and Super Bowl victories.
Yet ask fans and players of teams like the Lions, Bears, Jaguars, Panthers, Jets, Giants, Cardinals, Browns, Commanders and even the Patriots how it feels to have a losing season. These teams would jump at the chance to steal Mike Tomlin away.
Yes, the team should have drafted Jalen Hurts in the 2019 NFL Draft instead of Chase Claypool to have him be the successor to Ben Roethlisberger. Even Hurts thought he was getting a call on Draft Night from Pittsburgh, not the Eagles.
Yet Pickett can still prove his worth as a first-round pick and the face of the franchise for years to come. He has the talent and the weapons around him to succeed and just needs a coordinator to put it all together.
This season, Pittsburgh’s linebackers have been decimated by injuries, and the Steelers are now using two players who were retired before getting a call last week to suit up for the Black and Yellow.
And the team’s on-the-field play is not Tomlin’s fault. Can you blame him for Damontae Kazee missing two interceptions that resulted in a big play in the first quarter and a TD in the second quarter? Kazee did have an interception that he almost turned into a pick-six, but those two misses allowed the Pats to jump out to a huge lead.
And the aforementioned bad reads by Trubisky were not Tomlin’s fault either.
Despite Matt Canada, the slew of injuries and poor decisions, the Steelers are 7-6 overall, 3-1 in the division with games against the Bengals and Ravens left, and are currently sitting in a Wild Card playoff spot.
That’s coaching and that’s what Mike Tomlin, a guaranteed Hall of Famer, does.
Out of the seven active coaches with 17 or more years of experience, Tomlin ranks third in wins behind Bill Belichick and Andy Reid, coaches with 29 and 25 years of head coaching experience, respectively. Tomlin’s record of 170-99-2 puts him ahead of Pete Carroll, Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton and John Harbaugh.
All of these coaches have at least one Super Bowl win and all of them have at least one losing season except Tomlin.
In 2020, Tomlin passed Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy (148) to become the All-Time winningest Black head coach in NFL history, a record which isn’t likely to be broken, especially with the way the NFL’s hiring practices have progressed (regressed) recently.
That year, he miraculously led the Steelers to a 12-4 record and an AFC North title. Despite having the worst ground game in the league they still started the season 11-0.
Critics called the team frauds, yet what other coach could get a flawed team to 12-4, two consecutive playoff appearances, lose its future Hall of Fame QB and still maintain a winning record?
Pittsburgh knows Tomlin’s value, which is why it signed him to a three-year extension in 2021 that runs through the 2024 season.
Mike Tomlin is not perfect, but he’s an elite coach who will be in the Hall of Fame. His love for and loyalty to his players speaks volumes, which is why so many want to play for him.
Does he need to change and hire differently? Yes. First-year GM Omar Khan ushered in a new way of thinking about the draft and assembling a team, and Tomlin should join Khan’s new path for it’s off to a great start with players like Joey Porter Jr. and Broderick Jones.
But while Tomlin is slowly changing his ways, he’s still winning.
So unless you want the Steelers to start losing, tanking or experiencing painful rebuilds, stop the foolish calls for Tomlin to be fired.
