As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to give Head Coach Mike Tomlin a three-year contract extension has been as divisive as America’s current political spectrum. The fan base is at each other’s throats over the issue and to be honest, both sides have valid arguments.
Recognize first and foremost that the Steelers rarely have a head coach at the helm who only has a year left on their current contract. Therefore, the idea that Tomlin was going to coach this year in that situation was very unlikely. The timing of the extension is not surprising either. The day before mandatory mini-camp begins allows Tomlin to speak about the extension without having to do it at a time when there isn’t much going on. In other words, most journalists will be focusing on the players at camp rather than the extension.
The portion of this fan base that supports Mike Tomlin without reservation will point to several things. As much as many hate it, he does have that “no losing seasons” streak and it can’t just be thrown aside. In the modern era, with 32 teams and more talent than ever, it’s an impressive accomplishment.
They will also point to seasons like last year in which he led this team to the playoffs behind Mason Rudolph. The late-season rush featured wins at Seattle and at Baltimore before falling in the Wild-Card round in Buffalo. Tomlin has also won games with guys named Duck Hodges so…
The detractors however point to the postseason failures and that’s more than fair too. Steeler Nation does not celebrate “getting to the playoffs.” When you play and coach in Pittsburgh the expectation is getting to Super Bowls and Tomlin hasn’t done this since 2009. Yes, there were games when Le’Veon Bell wasn’t available and a game when Antonio Brown wasn’t healthy but every team deals with injuries and Tomlin would be the first not to use it as an excuse. An AFC Title Game loss in New England wasn’t unexpected nor was a loss in Ben Roethlisberger’s final game in Kansas City but Cleveland? Jacksonville? Ugh.
Understand that winning playoff games isn’t easy and getting to Super Bowls is even more difficult but those are the expectations that Mike Tomlin embraced when he became the coach. He knows what the ‘standard’ is and he isn’t living up to it. Sadly, this conversation is never without the issue of race. It shouldn’t be, but it is and to suggest otherwise means you aren’t on social media or just aren’t paying attention. The vitriol that is spewed towards Tomlin for not other reason than the color of skin is often prevalent.
Tomlin is not naive to that and I think he understands his place in Steelers’ history but also in the NFL as well. For me, I firmly believe that Mike Tomlin is a good football coach and will easily enter the Hall of Fame when that time comes but we are in the “now.” The fan base needs to see more and by ‘more’ we mean postseason success. Tomlin doesn’t tolerate excuses and we as fans shouldn’t either.
