JANUARY 16: Tomlin’s Steelers fell to the Bills on Monday as many expected, bringing the team’s season to an end. To no surprise, Tomlin faced a question about his future, but he declined to address the topic. He instead elected to depart his press conference when his contract was mentioned (video link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). Until further clarity emerges as it pertains to the NFL’s longest-tenured coach, Tomlin’s status will be worth monitoring.
JANUARY 14: The Steelers will take on the Bills in a wild-card matchup tomorrow, a game that was pushed back a day due to heavy snow in Buffalo. Pittsburgh is a heavy underdog in that contest, and according to a number of high-profile NFL pundits, it is fair to wonder whether it will be head coach Mike Tomlin‘s last game on the Steelers’ sidelines.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that whenever Pittsburgh’s season comes to an end, Tomlin will discuss his future with his family and “reassess his situation.” While such a reassessment takes place at the end of every season, Florio suggests the situation is different this time around because Tomlin is only signed through 2024 and has never inked an extension with just one year left on his contract. In Florio’s estimation, Tomlin could certainly re-up with the Steelers, but he could also forego a new contract, finish out his current deal in 2024, and become a free agent in 2025. Alternatively, like current Broncos head coach Sean Payton did when he was under contract with the Saints, Tomlin could choose to sit out a year and see if another club pursues a trade for his rights (of course, regardless of whether Tomlin re-signs or chooses to enter 2024 as a lame duck, that may not prevent another team from trying to acquire via him via trade).
To be clear, the factual underpinning of Florio’s report is flawed. When Tomlin signed a three-year extension in April 2021, his existing contract at the time only kept him under club control through the end of the 2021 season; in other words, he has indeed gone into an offseason with just one year left on a contract. However, Florio is not the only one who believes Tomlin’s Pittsburgh future is uncertain.
On January 7, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (video link) reported that the Steelers would not fire Tomlin, which jibes with Florio’s own report from last month, when he wrote that Pittsburgh had no desire to move on from its head coach and had no reason to believe that Tomlin did not want to continue his tenure with the club. Glazer did add, however, that “it’ll be [Tomlin’s] choice if he goes back to the Steelers or not, but it will be his choice.”
Just one day later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter (video link via Awful Announcing) said that some league sources believe Tomlin could decide to take a year off, a la Payton. While Schefter did confirm that the Steelers have no intention of parting ways with Tomlin if the Super Bowl-winning head coach wants to return, he noted that Tomlin is a Washington, D.C. native and that his wife loves Los Angeles, thereby implying that the Commanders’ and Chargers’ HC vacancies may be appealing to him.
Although the 2023 campaign looked to be heading nowhere after three straight losses from Weeks 13-15 — including defeats at the hands of the woeful Cardinals and Patriots — Tomlin’s decision to insert quarterback Mason Rudolph into the starting lineup in Week 16 paid immediate dividends, as the Steelers rattled off three consecutive victories at the end of the season to sneak into the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoff field. That said, no matter what happens in the playoffs, Pittsburgh’s long-term QB situation is decidedly unsettled, and between the in-season firing of OC Matt Canada and some locker room tension, 2023 has doubtlessly been a trying one for Tomlin.
As such, it would not be as surprising as it might have been in past years to see Tomlin step away for a time or move on to a different team. If he opts for the latter course, there will be no shortage of interest in his services. Now that Bill Belichick and the Patriots have parted ways, Tomlin is the longest-tenured head coach in the league, but he is still just 51 (he will turn 52 in March). While the contingent of Pittsburgh fans that believe Tomlin should be fired are surely tired of hearing about it, Tomlin has famously never had a sub-.500 season, and he boasts a 173-100-2 regular season record.
Detractors will point out that Tomlin is 8-9 in the postseason and has not won a playoff game since 2016, both of which are fair criticisms. Nonetheless, his overall body of work has kept him in good stead in the Steelers’ front office and will make him a hot commodity elsewhere if he seeks a change of scenery.
So he’s gone in all but name then
ya let’s see,
….no one wants him here.
and he’s not sure he wants to be here.
.. should be pretty easy answer.
“Detractors will point out that Tomlin is 8-9 in the postseason and has not won a playoff game since 2016, both of which are fair criticisms.”
Seems this may be THE major problem. Ask Mike Vrabel. Should even be more so for a proud, historically successful franchise like the Steelers. The legends of both those coaches are far greater than the results on the field.
time to play a little game..
can you name one single Tomlin assistant that another team was interested and hired into a HC, OC or DC role..?
you can’t because it never happened.
(just a reminder that Jim Harbaughs top assistant is STILL HC of the 49ers)
Google:
Mike Tomlin coaching tree
check it out.
I feel Tomlin is somewhat overrated as a coach. I also feel like it’s important to be fair though, and so it needs to be pointed out that he also hires a lot of older, well-established assistants. That’s a large part of his lack of a coaching tree.
Maybe I misunderstood your post or am missing something but I don’t find any scenario where Kyle Shanahan worked for Jim Harbaugh.
It is good thing the Rooney’s have more patience and a better perspective than these so-called fans. Tomlin is 173-100-2 (.631) as a head coach. Only the mathematically challenged would describe his record as slightly above average. Many successful coaches ebb and flow. Is John Harbaugh a top coach? He is 1-4 in the playoffs since 2014. (Tomlin is 3-5 over the same span). Bill Cowher was 8-9 in the playoffs, same as Tomlin today, until his 14th season as a head coach, when he won his only Super Bowl. To switch sports, Pitt’s Jamie Dixon was 328-123 (.727), with 11 NCAA Tourny appearance in his 13 seasons. True he never got Pitt into the final 4, but how has Pitt done since he left? The great Al Mcquire never made a final 4 at Marquette, until his 13th and last season, when he won the National Championship. Back to football, Bill Belichik did not win a Super Bowl until 10 years after he first became an NFL head coach. He had a much bumpier early head coaching career, but before winning his first Super Bowl had made the playoffs only once in six seasons as a head coach. Fortunately, both Tomlin and Art Rooney are too smart to listen to the whining of foolish “fans.”
I was surprised by what “click bait” this amounted to from national media “insiders”
I mean, how is any of this a revelation? I’d bet most coaches who’ve been entrenched in a position for years use the off season to assess what their own personal goals are.
Glazer, Florio, Schefter…it’s almost a race to see who can poke the bear a bit to see if he can inspire a change
I have no opinion on Tomlin either way. As a Steelers fan, there are positives and negatives as there are with any coach
But these types of articles and sound bites can only be called sickening. These guys are like insects at the picnic
You need to go outside and take a couple deep breaths.
So writing on a message board equates to some type of “rage” in your book? Or do you simply need definitions for some of the words I wrote?
Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, with a name like yours. Trailer park fans
So, in a short span of time, a bunch of reporters got this similar information…from whom?
Certainly not Tomlin’s agent, right?
They got two sources to confirm that Tomlin’s wife “loves LA”? K.
Also, someone buy Adam Schefter a map. It would be news to people in southeastern Virginia to learn that they are DC natives.
I think it’s fair to say that it really is a QB league. Mike hasn’t won in the playoffs w/o Ben. Bill misses Tom, S Payton would like another HoF QB. Congrats to GB’s HC winning w/o Aaron this year. Even Andy Reid. He always had very competitive teams in Philly and KC, but needed a HoF to get him on top of the mountain.
Always was a QB league, and always will be. You pointed out the most recent examples well.
As a Steeler fan it may be time for new blood. It really feels the standard has went from SuperBowl wins to non losing season & making playoffs
I am read where Canada was really not his call but Dan Rooney Jr’s as far as getting him hired. And Tomlin did want him fired last offseason but Art didn’t want to pay a coach not to coach.
Steelers didn’t win a Super Bowl for 25 years. What in the world are you people yapping about? The standard is to compete with what you have, which hasn’t been much since 2019. Worst offensive line in football and no QB (or the equivalent with the washed up version of Roethlisberger). What exactly do you think you “deserve” as a Steeler fan in light of that? You think you were going to go on a run and beat Mahomes and Josh Allen and Joe Burrow with that empty cupboard? Not to mention the mental cases he has routinely had to deal with in that organization.
The 80s were clearly a dry stretch, even with them appearing in 2 AFC Championship games. And dating back to 1995, the Steelers have been in 9 other AFC Championship games.
Albeit not Super Bowl wins, they’ve been on the brink of several other chances (curse you Tom Brady and the Patriots!).
The standard is a Super Bowl win, but this hot garbage about never having a losing season is old. Get back to the good ole days where the Steelers were making DEEP playoff runs instead of consistent 1 and out, if they were even lucky enough to qualify.
If Tomlin does indeed step down as HC, could Antonio Pierce be on Steeler radar?
I doubt he comes but he most definitely be interviewed
Pierce will definitely have a job before Tomlin decides his coaching future. If Tomlin chooses not to coach the Steelers next year that decision will probably happen in early to mid March. Gives him 4-6 weeks after the season ends to weigh his options and it gives the team 4-6 weeks to hire a replacement before the draft.
You have to be a Steelers fan who doesn’t have beer goggles on to see the team’s problems under Tomlin. Their offense has some talented receivers, but there have been huge discipline issues and a playbook that has maybe one page in it that every other team has memorized. Their defense cannot always save them. They shoot themselves in the foot with penalties and poor clock management. Their mediocrity is someone’s fault and the buck stops with Tomlin.
I am the biggest Tomlin nonbeliever there is. In my opinion he is the most overrated coach in NFL.
His challenges suck, his time management sucks & the players undiscipline is far & away the biggest problem.
3 playoff losses all while the opposition scores over 40 pts. Losing to Tim Tebow & Blake Bortles in the playoffs. And don’t forget to the Browns ST coach cause Stefanski was home sick with Covid.
I could go on & on but was just trying to not have a huge back n forth today. But seems like if I am chill about it and say the PC things bout maybe it’s time for a change I catch that with disrespect as well.
How bout the fact it’s his defense & it’s the highest paid defense in the league 3 HOF worthy players & they can’t stop the run or a TE to dave their lives.
Or how bout we had a HOF QB the best RB in the league & best WR in the league & didn’t win anything.
I am far from a beer googled fan. Tomlin has sucked for years & to be honest never won anything without Cowher’s but more importantly LeBeau’s players on defense.
There you got me started
Cheers to that speech!
You mean Tomlin should have pulled Roethlisberger in the 2021 playoff game? Maybe replace Pouncey for the bad snap?
This is what it comes down to. Most of the playoff shortcomings can be laid directly on Roethlisberger besides the Patriot losses, which were just them flat out getting beat by a better team.
“Or how bout we had a HOF QB the best RB in the league & best WR in the league & didn’t win anything.”
OK…how about that…
Why did they have “the best RB and WR” in the league? Because Tomlin was able to coach Lev Bell and AB into being star players, something NO ONE else was able to do. They were cancerous dumpster fires under every other coach they played for, including BB. Tomlin got elite production from them.
And who did they lose to?
A cheater with the smartest QB ever.
Who did Tomlin have?
A great, HOF QB, yes…but…also one of the dumbest great QB’s in league history.
How many of those playoffs games that “TOMLIN LOST” was actually Ben going brain dead and tossing a pick six or otherwise soiling the bed. Many.
Is it actually Tomlin’s fault that Ben isn’t nearly as smart as Brady?
It’s a QB league and they don’t have one. Tomlin should go to San Diego and polish up his reputation.
Herbert is 30-31. Until he proves he can go on winning streak, stop calling him a great QB. Same for Trevor L.
At least someone else sees this. It’s annoying how many people give the guy a pass when he’s a .500 QB and has gotten his first two coaches fired.
LOL. If you actually watch Chargers games and come to the conclusion that Herbert is the problem, you just simply don’t understand football. Looking at a team stat to judge how good one individual player is is just absolutely ridiculous. The man isn’t going to keep losing games 34-30 his entire career. Eventually someone competent will take over. Again I just don’t think you watch the games and are a boxscore skimmer especially if you think Herbert is the reason Staley got fired.
It’s the old football adage. QB’s and HC’s get all the credit for winning and take all the blame for losing. And I watched last year when the woeful jags D blanked Justin in the 2nd half during the playoffs. He may be a ‘good QB’ but clearly he’s not carrying the team.
Yeah, And lead them to a 9-8 record and either miss the playoffs or lose in the first round. After all the standard is the standard
Shi…I would love for my team to have 17 straight winning seasons.
Tomlin either staying or going to tv.
The NFL doesn’t hand out rings or trophies for being slightly above average.
And they don’t fire head coaches who have never had a losing season after 17 years. Have you actually looked at his record? People act like he’s been 8-8 or 9-8 every year. He’s had multiple double digit winning seasons and they were when it was only 16 games
What’s his playoff record ?
Giving up 40 pts how many playoff games in a row
And in all honesty how many big regular season non division games has he won in the last 10 years
I swear the Tomlin kool aid is almost as strong as the Trump Kool aid
The guy is over rated
As I’ve said repeatedly, I’m on the fence about Tomlin but Deerhunter is giving you the fresh smell of napalm for your argument. Yeah, as Steelers fans, we’d like the team to compete for championships each and every year. But the simple truth is, Tomlin has coached a competitive program each year he’s been here. I’m not sure if any other franchise can say such a thing as after all, sports are cyclical.
That’s the point and the reason non-Steelers fans laugh at such thinking
But who knows? Maybe Tomlin goes the route as described above and this Dallas score holds up
Then maybe Greenfield’s own Mike McCarthy comes home
Oy.
Wait so just because a team makes the playoffs or fights for the final playoff spot makes them competitive ?
That must be where I am lost in the Tomlin love.
I don’t always find that competitive. I find that fighting for the final spot not for a championship.
I have absolutely no problem with a down year or 2 like when Ben hurt his elbow I woulda been fine with a losing record that year. Didn’t matter though cause that draft pick went to Miami for Minkah.
I will never say tank I always want the Steelers to win every game they play. But in reality sometimes you need to take a step back so you can take 2 steps forward later on.
They have been pushing back cap bell year after year in order to fill spots with vets just good enough to fight for a playoff spot.
It’s ok to clear cap hell and play some youngsters see who develops get a better pick and start building back. I am fine watching young guys learn by fire. Including this year. I don’t care that we made the 7 seed this year. Hoping to win & maybe go on a run but are we good enough to win a SuperBowl ? I don’t see it. Not when we can’t beat NE or Arizona in the regular season.
I mean it’s Tomlin that made Ravens Wars drop passes or Raiders corner dropping a pick 6
Come on man Tomlin wasn’t the reason for some of those wins but when 49ers, Texans & Cards score at Will with no answer he can’t be criticized because hey we made the playoffs
You’re not winning without a good quarterback and Pittsburgh hasn’t had a good quarterback in years. It’s really pretty simple. With the exception of Foles catching fire, I bet every winning quarterback was top 10 in the league that year. This is the way the NFL is. Kenny Pickett is no Mahomes or Brady
And I have stated repeatedly that I would be absolutely ok with Tomlin coming back but it gotta be with better assistants.
He consistently produces no young coaches.
Larry Foote, Randle El & Deshea Townsend are all names being talked about highly how are they not on his staff ? Leftwich too he was interviewing for HC jobs not to long ago.
You’re still missing the bigger picture here and hey, cool the Tomlin-love talk, ok? I can take him or leave him
“Competitive” doesn’t need to mean compete for championships. Who was it that recently was writing about “yinzers feeling entitled” here.
The very fact that the Steelers had no 5-12 or 4-13 seasons here means they were competitive and generally speaking, is something fans of other franchises would easily trade.
Yeah, I notice how the team underperforms, how assistant coaches with talent are quickly shown the door, how being a diva gets little pushback from Tomlin
And the truth is, in many of those regards, the same can be said about most head coaches and their teams.
I dunno, steelersbraves. Maybe it’s that I’ve been a fan since Noll came on board,lived through the Malone and Brister eras and have watched even the best franchises fade over time along with their coach
Let me ask you this at what point were you ready for Noll to go ? I caught the end of his career. I didn’t see the 70’s dynasty.
And also how do you compare Cowher & Tomlin ?
I am a huge Cowher fan but I felt his time had come as well. I felt he got his ring and the team started to feel a bit flat and it was time to bring in a young hungry new coach. I didn’t want Russ Grimm & was happy with Tomlin’s hire.
But I am not of the belief that coaches need to be around a team for 20 years.
I don’t care what other standards are. Most franchises are not on the Steelers level. We were the standard bearer.
Oh sure, agreed. Coaches get stale. Their practices and messages that were successful a generation ago often fail with successive generations. And in the era of multi million dollar athletes, I’d bet it is extremely difficult to successfully coach without constantly reinventing one’s self
Noll falls into this category, of course. As his dynasty aged and his players began to retire, it became difficult to have the same lofty goals with inferior players. Here was a guy faced with going through a difficult rebuild over a protracted period.
This is where your standard bearer idea goes off the tracks. I remember the Packers being “standard bearers”. The Cowboys. The Niners
And the Steelers. And then the Patriots.
Each of these franchises have gone through lean years and perhaps this is where your memory is a bit provincial.
Belichick being replaced in New England was every bit thanks to reach the standard over the past two seasons.
Point is, “we” weren’t the only standard bearer and the fact that Tomlin *hasnt* had seasons that degraded into paltry amounts of wins must mean something to ownership and “Tomlin lovers” out there
In a big picture view of things how are Cowher and Tomlin different at all? Tomlin has a .633 career regular season winning percentage and Cowher is at .623. Cowher has a 12-9 playoff record and Tomlin is 8-9. Though it’s highly unlikely, Tomlin can tie Cowher’s playoff record by winning the super bowl this year. Both are 1-1 in the Super Bowl.
Cowher’s Super Bowl winning team, which was the last team to get in the playoffs by the way, needed a game saving tackle from Ben to get to the Super Bowl. Then an Ike Taylor interception to set up an Antwaan Randle El passing touchdown to win the Super bowl. Tomlin’s Super Bowl winning team needed a core group of Cowher’s players, a 100 yard James Harrison pick six as the first half expired and Santonio Holmes being on point in the corner of the endzone. Their resumes are practically carbon copies.
Missing 1 key point for both. Cowher had a HOF level QB for the beginning of Ben”s career & Tomlin had him damn near his whole career.
Roethlisberger hasn’t been HOF caliber for years and Pickett is a huge reach. It’s not Tomlin’s fault that they never gave him a good quarterback for the last 6 years
Let me start by saying I am not a Steelers fan and I don’t follow the team.
The fact that Tomlin has a below 500 record in the playoffs.
This may be interpreted elsewhere.
He is such a good coach that he is able to elevate his team performance to the point that his teams make the playoffs when they really should not.
Individual player performance while having value does not necessarily mean success in a TEAM SPORT. Results are based on performance as a unit.
Does this postseason point more to the GM? Or to a meddling owner?
Is there a disconnect between the team building philosophies of:
HEAD COACH, GM, and OWNER?
Are the players being supplied by the GM the “right ones” to take the team to the next level?
Are the moves made by the owner the “right ones” to take the team to the next level?
This will be the discussion to take place in the postseason team review.
Yeah you obviously don’t follow the Steelers cause you absolutely have no idea the inner workings and should probably keep your uninformed opinions to yourself.
First off one of Tomlin’s most used sayings especially around draft time is how he gets to shop for his own groceries. Meaning it’s a collective effort. He has say, Colbert had say & if need be Art could override them. He has total say on his coaching staff hence the Brian Flores hire for 1 year.
You can say what you want about him elevating his talent but at the end of the day Ben was a QB on HOF trajectory, AB was not only in the conversation but leading the conversation of Best WR in the league & Lev Bell was in the middle of that conversation for RB. With that talent he won nothing.
Now he has a HOF caliber player at every level of the defense & they are the highest paid defense in the league. Now they are a good defense maybe even a very good defense but for that level of players & cost it should be better. Especially when the plan was to win with the defense, running the ball & not turning the ball over.
His greatest success and even the greatest Tomlin supporter would agree came with Cowher’s players and LeBeau’s defense.
It’s a new GM & Weidle hopefully stays for
A change would be good for PIT and for Tomlin.
2024 is the year of change in the NFL lol.
The number 2 overall pick would be a quick way to jumpstart a rebuild/retool. Ultimately I think Tomlin ends up back in the burgh, but he doesn’t want to be there don’t just let him walk, get trade value.
Does he wanna comeback n continue bein avg in Pittsburgh or does he hightail it to new digs 2B avg there …
He should be voted into the hall of fame for getting his team to the playoffs with Mason Rudolph alone. Best head coach in the league hands down and I hate Pittsburgh.
Steelers are up on my Ravens during the Tomlin – Harbaugh era. If you wanna move on from Mike, fine by me.
As a Steeler fan I respect that answer. I can’t stand Harbaugh, but if he left I’d be happy because they would have lost a good coach. There is great mutual respect between Tomlin and Harbaugh, and under the surface between the 2 teams. They don’t like each other, but they know that each other is a well-run unit.
“To be clear, the factual underpinning of Florio’s report is flawed.”
As it often is. Florio is a chump.
I’m gonna say this .. All Steelers fans who want Tomlin gone , be careful what you wish for ..
There aren’t many Coaches who guide teams to the playoffs with shotty QB play , regularly .. Seriously of all the teams in the playoffs Pittsburg has arguably the worst ..
Personally, I wish the Steelers front office would go big .. trade up for the #1 or #2 pick .. since you know for a fact you won’t finish less than .500 you should never be scared to trade future picks .. instead of acting like middling talent is enough to win a champion every/any year ..
Yep, you wouldn’t want to give up the opportunity to squeak into the playoffs from time to time, just to say you’ve been there. Tomlin has become Marvin Lewis 2.0.
3 playoff wins since 2011. The Pittsburgh pirates have 3 playoff wins since 2011. That’s not competing for a championship every year.
That’s not really comparable. Did the Pirates advance to the next round 3 times? The one time they advanced was the play in game against Cincinnati and I don’t believe they called that a playoff game
Comparable in that “no losing season” doesn’t mean championship competitive. The pirates advanced that one year. The wildcard was one game. They won 2 in the next series.
Pats should look into this. Tomlin would be terrific as their coach, not Joe Mayo.
Joe Mayo is too busy dealing with Silvio the landlord so he can’t coach right now anyways.
Give Mayo a chance. Everyone said the same thing about Dan in Detroit. He’s done a great job for 3 years on the job.
Just that the Pats really need someone with experience, considering their situation.
I love that yinzers are utterly convinced that Tomlin alone is holding back the franchise from winning championships, when in reality he’s the thing keeping them from the basement.
Just completely detached from any world that actually exists in reality.
More than anything else, they as an organization have misfired on numerous draft picks and free agent signings
Every organization does
As I have said repeatedly, I can take Tomlin or leave him. In the end, most coaches at the professional level are still at the mercy of player performance. Period
There are coaches like Staley was in LA who take the game out of those players hands with mind numbing decisions, of course. I don’t see Tomlin as one of those kinds and unless his players are lying year after year, he’s still a motivator
I don’t want to come off as a “Tomlin lover” but given some of the posts here, your thoughts about entitlement are on target. Sheesh
Hopefully Khan, Weidl and Tomlin will make better decisions moving forward. I think Tomlin is staying and this is a non story, to be honest.
Like any fan, I want the team to compete for titles every year. But the fact that under Tomlin this team has never gone 3-14, 5-12 or whatever while virtually every other team has must mean something
I dunno, for every failed pick, they have also founds STARS late. Miller, Heyward and Watt were all #30 overall picks, IIRC.
Are fans willing to tear it down, sell it off for scrap and do a real, true, full (3-14 for years) rebuild?
Because otherwise, yeah, Tomlin is going to win more games than he should with a mediocre roster and (barring the unearthing of more late pick stars) this will be what they are looking at.
So, tear it down and hope you build it back better? Or keep trying your best and hope the pieces fall into place?
Those are the choices.
I’m at a loss to understand this notion that some young guy from the Shanahan coaching tree is going yo come in an “bring the team into the new NFL style”
Has anyone watched the past few games?
A QB who has an arm capable of utilizing the deep threats prevents defenses from loading the box and killing the run game. It’s that simple. What we’ve seen is actually that new style. So much for that argument.
Yeah, as I said there are 2 options.
The notion that a magic coach will come in and turn the same roster into championship favorites is just silly.
Tear it down or hope they make the right picks late in the draft to get to another level.
Actually, there is a third choice now that I think about it…decide the grass is greener and hire the next Nathaniel Hackett or Gus Bradley or whoever and end up irrelevant, which would be a longer, more painful backdoor path to a rebuild, I guess.
The Steelers have the same option that they had with Cowher and Tomlin. Hire a good young coordinator to be HC and let him hire talented coordinators to run his offense and defense and bring in new schemes and plays to replace the old book they’ve been using far too long. It might be a rebuild, but better that than keeping the status quo under Tomlin, which is maybe squeak into the playoffs every year as wild card and lose.
OK…
So, you are saying that there IS a magic coach who can win it all with this roster?
Or are you saying you are ready for a few 3-14 years?
Tired of hearing bout this roster. Tomlin says all the time he is the chef & he shops for his groceries come draft time.
With this roster ????
Well when does the roster become good enough ?
I am not even mad he lost this playoff game
The Bills were the better team by far
But come on last 4 playoff loses the opposition averaged 40 pts a game ???
And I don’t want to hear about QBs Baker hot a win this year
I could go either way with Tomlin if he stays he stays if he goes he goes but these damn Tomlin supporters like he is this great coach are like talking to Trump supporters.
Ok we get it he does the best with what he has but y’all forget that he plays a part in getting what he gets in the draft & FA. Throw in his coaching staff too. He went to Art & got Flores on the staff you mean to tell me he couldn’t get Canada off sooner
This game was an example of why I can “leave” Tomlin and it happens far too often. Quite frankly, his team was once again ill prepared for the Bills
All week, you made note of containing Allen, shutting down tight ends, stopping Cook. They did none of that.
You heard about the depleted Bills secondary but took no deep or even semi-deep shots
And the post game presser, where Tomlin stomped out? Looked about as pre-determined by him as possible
I think most coaching is either overrated OR overmatched (as Staley was in LA). I think coaches get stale
If Tomlin stays, hey, fine. Make the commitments to overhauling a number of positions
If he decides to leave, I’ll be glad to go to Acrisure to help him pack
The Bills entered the season as Super Bowl favorites and were playing at home.
The Steelers entered the season expected to finish 3rd or 4th in the AFC North and somehow made the playoffs with their 3rd string QB.
But, you think it was coaching that was the difference yesterday?
Yeah, if only Tomlin had ever told Pickens he had to hold on to the ball or had ever told Minkah that he has to actually tackle the guy streaking toward the end zone, they would have romped.
If not for poor coaching the inferior team would have won on the road against the superior team, obviously.
Run that bum out of town.
Like I have said repeatedly, I don’t care either way. I see positives. I see negatives
Yesterday was a negative.
I don’t have yearly expectations. Like I’ve said, the players have to make the plays
In yesterday’s case, preparedness and play calling—because he has oversight of everything—were negatives
Try to be objective here. You’re right. They need a real upgrade of talent. I just don’t think Tomlin’s direction yesterday did this current incarnation any favors
In the beginning of the year SI had an article about the Steelers leading the NFL in fines, by a huge margin, over the past several seasons. That’s an ON FIELD discipline problem that is a coaches responsibility to fix. There’s off field issues as well. Quoting another article, under Tomlin, if the Steelers are favored by more than 7, take the points and bet against them. You could not watch last night’s game and think the Steelers belong in the playoffs. Tomlin has gone stale. He walked out of the press conference when asked about his contract. I think being fired would look bad, but if he quits, sits out a year or whatever, I would be happy.
Oh…where did SI pick them to finish in the beginning of the year?
“Anything less than Tomlin coaching a Mason Rudolph led team without TJ Watt to an AFC championship game will be an utter failure on his part. Solely.”
Is that what it said?
Or did they pick them 4th behind BAL, CIN and CLE?
They fell into where they shoulda been he did no miraculous coaching job this year
Cincy lost Burrows & not only that but he was hurt and not himself when he did actually play
Talk about what he did with the QB situation well nobody in Cleveland is cryin cause Watson was done & Chubb was done no Stefanski brings
Flacco in and tears it up
You wanna give Tomlin credit the injuries in this division played a huge part in the Steelers being where they ended up It wasn’t coaching when you lose to Arizona & NE back to back
And I am not mad they lost yesterday The Bills were the better team
IDK where si picked them at the beginning of the year, but they’re 3rd in the division, so I’d say not far off. What about the discipline issues and fines? In other words the article I did talk about? Mason Rudolph leading the team was a Tomlin decision. If that’s a bad decision, it’s not a good idea to use it in his defense. Since 2011, the Steelers have 3 playoff wins. The same number as the the Pittsburgh pirates.
And every one needs to stop the Tomlin got them to the playoffs bullshit
Steelers needed a team to lose in order to get in the playoffs
Stefanski got his team to the playoffs losing his best offensive weapon & his QB playing with his 4th QB of the season.
So stop the Tomlin got us there he didn’t a team that beat us had to lose in order for him to get in.
If he beat either NE or Arizona team that talent wise we’re not on the Steelers level they get in
And they beat Cincy with no Burrows & beat a Raven team that was basically playing backups.
He’s 100% decided on not answering stupid questions post-game
I can and do find fault with Tomlin often, even though I respect him as a good to great head coach. I certainly don’t find fault with him for not answering that question yesterday. Maybe just saying “no comment” or even ignoring it would have been better. But he was disappointed, angry, tired and dealing with the reality of the season being over.
Also, he does not like Brooke Pryor, the reporter who asked the question. It’s not a sexism thing, it’s her history of asking that type of question: wrong place/wrong time, trying to provoke an emotional response types if questions. I do NOT blame her for asking it: it’s a fair one in the situation and it’s part of her job. But she didn’t have to ask it last night, and Tomlin shouldn’t be crucified for not answering them.
Funny to watch ESPN this morn and get a whole array of thoughts on this. First, Greenie and company continued the “never had a losing season…Steelers fans are nuts” mantra. But I was shocked to hear Stephen A Smith and Shannon Sharpe say that yes, maybe it’s time for Tomlin to go elsewhere, that perhaps his style and message aren’t resonating here anymore
They went on to talk about the obvious difference in QB’s and how simply put, this is the biggest factor here. We certainly saw that yesterday
I could imagine a Cousins or Wilson would energize this offense. Of that, I have no doubt. The troubling thing that occurs to me is that whether Tomlin stays or not, we are going to see another year of Pickett because admitting a first round draft mistake is plain heresy for a front office and coach.
No matter who is coach, I agree that this should be a demand: get a top QB here
along with a modern thinking OC
The Rudolph story was a nice one but even more than the idea of new coaching, a proven leader should mark a philosophy shift for this team
Mike Tomlin is to the Steelers as Mike McCarthy was to the Packers. Time for him to go, thanks for the one super bowl, no thanks for holding us back from winning more when we should have.
Everything Florio reports is flawed. He throws everything at the wall hoping something sticks. Listening to him is worse than listening to Brian Billick, and that’s saying something.
He’s not alone, of course. Schefter, Glaser, Rapaport…it’s as if these guys are trying to create their own stories
I do love that yinzers have turned on Tomlin (a coach who has never lost in 17 NFL season no matter how bad his roster is in any given year) largely because Tim Benz (a guy who has been fired from every media gig he’s ever had) and Mark Madden (a guy who claims to be a super genius but spends his life feeding his dead mom’s cats in between Whitesnake shows) say he’s a loser.
Madden has to be the worst excuse for a local sports personality in the history of sports personalities.
I dunno…lots of contenders here…
Paul Zeise doesn’t even listen to himself talk, not sure why anyone else does.
At this point, Starkey and Pompeani are the only local media that I don’t consider entirely useless.
The funny part about Madden is when you break down his biggest bragging point…that he’s always #1 in the ratings…IN THE AFTERNOON (the AAA of radio, morning drive is the big leagues) against…who?
And you realize the guy hangs his hat on beating various shows featuring Chris Mueller. Bravo. Take a bow.
I dunno, 66. I think Madden’s boorish on-air style is straight out of ShockJock 101 but I find myself agreeing with a great deal of what he writes in his columns.
Zeise, Cook, Starkey, Benz…I don’t think any of these guys were on the “time to move on” bandwagon until just recently
Sharpe addressed your thinking on First Take today almost verbatim but then noted the playoff record and wondered, how simply having a winning record suffices as “We are talking the Pittsburgh Steelers” here
And Ryan Clark said as much even before this game
Yinzers? Hardly? Local media trying to make names for themselves? Not at all.
You’re now talking about guys who played for or against Tomlin’s teams wondering about what’s going on here
And these aren’t guys who see Pittsburgh as being “entitled”
I don’t care if Tomlin stays or goes but truly, there needs to be a paradigm shift in the organization
“but then noted the playoff record and wondered, how simply having a winning record suffices as “We are talking the Pittsburgh Steelers” here”
I keep getting asked what I mean by entitled, but this is a great example.
The Steelers play by the same rules, same draft, same free agency, same salary cap but simply because “we are talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers here” they should just win always by sheer virtue of their infallible greatness and reality shouldn’t apply. Every single team in the league tries to win and the Steelers do it far more than most and more consistently than anyone else, but that’s still a failure because “we are talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers here” and it’s 1978 forever.
Sure, it’s a mediocre team, but they should still beat a better team on the road without their best player because “we are talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.”
You say no matter how bad the roster like Tomlin doesn’t play a huge part in picking the players
It’s unbelievable the lengths that his defenders will go
I don’t like him as a coach. His challenge percentage sucks, his time management sucks & he consistently either don’t use a timeout like last night before the half or wastes them
But with all that being said I cheer
Jeff Fisher 2.0, .500 coach except4 1magical season.