Tom Hanks’ character Chuck Noland in the movie ‘Castaway’ eventually finds himself at a crossroads. After four years on an island by himself, he returned to find his former girlfriend married to someone else and that life had moved on without him. The Pittsburgh Steelers ARE Chuck Noland – with one exception.
Following their second straight loss at home to one of the worst teams in football, the Steelers find themselves standing in the middle of an intersection. Unlike Noland who knew exactly where he was headed when the smoking hot woman in the truck came by, the Steelers have no such luxury. At 7-6, they now face four teams (three on the road) who are either “in the playoffs” or are still within reach of getting there. They are banged up, beaten and humiliated. There is… No smoking, hot woman to follow.
The decision on which way to go is more than just about this season. The powers that be have to recognize what we’ve seen all season long. This is an average football team that was fortunate to even be where they were in the standings 10 days ago. Wins are wins and you don’t ever apologize for those but let’s be frank; those early wins against Cleveland, Baltimore and the LA Rams were built largely on good fortune. Defensive scores, dropped passes and officiating calls that went our way guided the Steelers to a winning record.
In the words of former NFL Coach Dennis Green, “They are who we thought they were.”
While the current iteration of this team faces four daunting weeks, the organization must confront even more difficult challenges. They have one more season with which to decide whether or not Kenny Pickett is their quarterback. When they decided to bring Matt Canada back, they essentially kicked the can down the road. Now we have to endure a season of “he’ll be better with a new coordinator.” Heck, has anyone considered he might be worse?
Art Rooney II must also decide if his head coach has run his course. I will always believe that Mike Tomlin is a good football coach and even better person but this is not the old days of pro football. This is a ‘win now or you’re gone league’ and I know, I know… “Every other team in the league would take Tomlin in a second!” No one is saying they wouldn’t. What I and many others believe is that you can be in one place too long. I’ve repeatedly said this over the last couple of years and I’ll continue to beat this drum. Everything surrounding Tomlin has gone stale.
I’m not naive however and I’ve been a fan of this organization long enough to know that Mike Tomlin will leave when Mike Tomlin is ready. That’s how the organization has functioned since the 1970’s but it also doesn’t mean it’s the right way to go in 2023. The offense, defense and special teams groups need a complete overhaul. New blood is needed. New ideas are needed. New coaches are needed and new players are needed. Despite a few great players, this just isn’t a good football team and as the organization stands in the middle of the intersection like Chuck Noland did, there are directions they can go.
The problem is that a good looking woman with all the answers isn’t an option. A fast-moving semi from each direction is.
