I do my best to try and give myself 24 hours before writing anything that could seem ‘too emotional’ or ‘overly reactive’ but this can wait no longer. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin need to go their separate ways and this is in the best interests of both parties.
For the eighth straight season the Pittsburgh Steelers have not won a playoff game. They are now 3-10 in the postseason since losing Super Bowl XLV to the Green Bay Packers. Mike Tomlin has coached for 18 seasons and in just four of those has his team won a postseason game. Last night’s loss was the fifth straight postseason loss where the team trailed by at least 21 points during the game. This is no longer about “maybe this or maybe that,” there is a clear and troubling pattern that has grown and manifested itself in this organization.
I have always said that Mike Tomlin is a good football coach. His ability to deal with all of the personalities that a head football coach must interact is outstanding. Yet his teams continue to struggle with assignments, techniques and preparedness. This is a lack of accountability in my opinion and while some of this is on the players and some of this is on the coordinators and assistants, it all comes back to Tomlin.
How They Part Ways
If you didn’t know, Mike Tomlin has a ‘no-trade’ clause in his contract. That means any team that wanted to trade for him would need him to waive that clause. After signing an extension last summer, Tomlin would also be paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million to leave. Let us remember that Art Rooney II is notoriously cheap and refused to fire Matt Canada at one point over $700,000.
The only way that Mike Tomlin isn’t the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025 is if he chooses not to be. That decision can be made easier if the front office does what it should. Tomlin needs to have his power significantly checked. His coordinators need to have more autonomy, especially on the defensive side where Tomlin’s hand prints are all over this late season disaster.
For the Steelers, moving on from Tomlin would signal that they finally admit that they reached the ‘insanity’ level. This organization keeps on doing the same things over and over and keeps getting the same results. Only an insane person keeps doing insane things right?
For Tomlin, he could use a fresh start. His cliches and overall manner would be welcome in many other NFL cities because they’ve gone stale in Pittsburgh. The “unleashing of Hell” and dark sunglasses just don’t resonate with the team and with the fan base any longer. I have always believed that a coach can be in one place too long and Tomlin is that coach.
I like Mike Tomlin and will always like Mike Tomlin but I also like winning playoff games and going to Super Bowls no matter how difficult that is. The organization needs significant change and Mike Tomlin does too. While I do not expect this happen, it absolutely should for the best interests of everyone involved.
