Mike Tomlin has been The Pittsburgh Steeler’s Head Coach since 2007, meaning he is closing in on year 20 as a Head Coach in the NFL. With the amount of turnover in the coaching department every season this is an amazing achievement, and I myself have major respect for Tomlin. We all know about his impressive feat to never have a losing season in the Steel City, but the team itself hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. That is a crazy stat to thin about. Mike Tomlin is a legendary head coach who has never had a losing season, but hasn’t led his team to a playoff win in almost a decade. How is that possible? Well Steelers fans have been split on whether or not to move forward as a team with or without Tomlin.
Tomlin’s Resume
Some believe that Tomlin’s resume really speaks for itself with all of the success that it showcases since he has joined the Steelers. Mike Tomlin’s all time record as a head coach is 183-107-2 during the regular season, which means that Pittsburgh wins 63% of games they play in with him at the helm. Tomlin has also led the Steelers to two Super Bowls, winning the game in 2008 in a nail biter against the Arizona Cardinals. The team has been to 3 AFC Championship Games, 7 Division Titles, 12 Playoff Appearances, and of course his crazy 18-season streak with no losing season. He’s also anchored a ton of historic defenses with his brilliant defensive minded style of play. There have been struggles in recent years for sure, but the Steelers shouldn’t risk signing an unproven coach and trust Tomlin to turn this team around. They are right there with one or two good pieces they could turn that corner and make a deep playoff run some fans believe. With that kind of experience and success under his belt, why wouldn’t you want this Hall of Fame bound head coach to lead your team?
Tomlin’s Struggles in Big Games
Now for the people of the Steel City that want Tomlin to stop coaching their team, they ignore all of his regular season accolades and asks, “What has he brought this Franchise?” Mike Tomlin has a playoff record of 8-11, with all 8 of those wins coming before 2017. Since they 2017 season the Steelers are 0-5 in the playoffs, which has led Tomlin’s record to below .500. The whole season is built around winning a championship, whether you’re the Eagles or Panthers, starting week one every team believes they can make a run. That is the the ultimate goal of the NFL, so the lack of success in the post season doesn’t inspire hope in Steelers fans. Tomlin could never have a losing record for the rest of his career, but at the end of the day that doesn’t matter if you don’t win in the big games. Where it’s win or go home and the whole city of Pittsburgh is watching and hoping that this team can finally get over the hump. Outside of his lack of post season success is the fact that his team offensively hasn’t been in the top of the league since 2018, which is a glaring weakness with the Steelers. His defensive mind is brilliant, but on the offensive side Tomlin and his coordinators are addicting to this old school running the ball style. This has led to this offense being easily defeated because unless you have an offensive line and running back like the Eagles, you aren’t winning games without a good passing game. The offense hasn’t has a strong identity since the Killer Bees era. With the lack of post season and offensive success, the hot seat under Mike Tomlin gets hotter and will continue to do so if this Steelers team doesn’t show some signs of life soon.
Tomlin’s Last Chance?
The Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans have had a lot of patience with the retirement of Big Ben, Many Draft busts, and offensive coordinator struggles being used as excuses for Mike Tomlin. He is going on year 19 now though with nothing to show for in his last 8 seasons. The theme for this team is playing hard and above expectations until they get to that 9 win mark, which is where they take their foot off the gas and limp into the playoffs and get severely out matched by a real contender. The Steelers are stuck at a point where they aren’t bad enough to get a high draft pick, but also aren’t good enough to do anything in the playoffs which leaves them stuck in mediocrity. Tomlin has a season or two left to give the city of Pittsburgh some hope for the future or the team will face even more backlash from fans. The seat for Tomlin has never been hotter and this is do or die time, so I hope for the sake of the Steelers franchise that he can really show what he has in this upcoming season.
