Pro’s vs. Con’s of Tomlin

I have always been a staunch supporter of Tomlin until this year. I still believe he is a good coach but I also believe it is time for a change. The one thing Tomlin always held true too and to me brought the most value to the Steelers was his ability to uphold the culture. The Steelers Way, The Standard, etc. I feel like he has lost that this year. I was willing to put up with his less than; in certain areas such as the X’s and O’s, Less than Coordinator hires, poor clock management, sloppy play, poor at challenging plays, etc. But unfortunately all of that has eroded team culture and as a result the identity and fight of this team.

For that I want to make the change. Move on him from him now while he is a highly tradeable asset. The biggest issue with Tomlin above all of the other stuff is his inability to develop QB’s. He is a defensive minded Head Coach and he plays the game as such. What I mean by that is he plays the game conservative. He desires to keep it close and win the turnover battle and let his defense go out and win the game. Unfortunately his philopshy has backfired on him this year. The defense is decimated by injuries so you can longer rely on them to win the game for you. The NFL is weighed heavily in favor of the Offense now to the extent most games are officiated as such (so it is foolish to invest in that area now). That style of conservative play will get you a winning record but it won’t win you playoff games. It is subpar football.

Tomlin Pro’s
1. We know what we have, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
2. Historically he has been able to keep the team focused and maximize the talent (but I don’t see it this year).
3. He is loyal beyond a fault. That can be a Pro and a Con actually.
4. He typically is great at receiving reciprocating loyalty from the players because he is fair with them. (But as you see this year losing can trump all of that).
5. Winning track record. He has done it before. He knows how to manage a team and win.

Tomlin Con’s
1. Not great with X’s and O’s.
2. Not an Offensive minded Coach and todays NFL is all about the Offense. Thats who wins Superbowls.
3. Seems to have lost the Locker Room.
4. Not Proficient at selecting Coordinators.
5. Not Proficient at Developing QB’s. (KP, Mitch and Rudolph)
6. No accountability of Players or Coaches (too many examples to list)
7. Don’t trust him to draft and develop a high profile rookie QB.
8. Don’t particularly like his Defensive Philosophy (Give up to many chunk plays. Have been weak against the run and pass at the sacrifice of the pass rush ever since Lebeau left). Now we aren’t even producing a great pass rush because we are playing in or fears and afraid to blitz.Plus the NFL is legislating QB sacks and good defensive back play out of the game with all of these ridiculous penalties.
9. Alot of poor moves on Player personnel and then doubling down by staying with those moves too long - Resigning DJ, Signing Allen Robinson, Singing Peterson, Signing Keanu Neal, Signing Ogunjobi to an extended contract when he has underperformed, singing Mitch and Okorofar to expensive contracts that they aren’t living up to, not starting JPJ or Benton or Jones over Veterans. Thats alot of big contracts for mediocre players. Would rather spend that on two high profile players than spread it across a bunch of mediocre players.
10. Poor Clock management
11. Poor at Challenges
12. Poor at in game adjustments
13. Poor at team being prepared and coming out flat all too often
14. Poor at team motivation and accountability when player leaders are lacking. His style worked when he had Hines Ward, Bettis, Porter, Farrior and Pouncey as leaders on the team. It doesn’t work now.
15. Lack of detail - I think it is a reflection of a smaller coaching staff. I don’t know if this is a Rooney issue or a Tomlin issue but it effects alot - like in game adjustments, penalties, challenges, clock management, team just being ill prepared.

Tomlin is intelligent that can’t be disputed. So why is he continuing to make these poor hires at the Coordinator positions? Does he want guys who won’t challenge him? Is it really a control and Ego thing? Is he too nice and he wants to hire his friends or promote from within to give others a chance and advance their careers? This to me is the biggest and most puzzling question of all.

His message is getting stale with this generation of players on this team. We are at a crossroads where Star players like Minkah and Watt and Pickens are getting frustrated because the primes of their career or the advancement of their career is being jeopardized by this team and I can see us either having to move on from these players or show drastic change so that we rebuild their confidence in this team moving forward. It can not be more of the same as it has been the last three years.

 

I also spent a long time liking Tomlin. Now, I am on the side Ben R. made Tomlin. I often wonder if Tomlin had Mahomes or Brady would they have had the success in a Black and Gold uniform????

 

I seek no comfort in "knowing what we have". We have a HC that only had early success with Bill Cowher's team, and has 3 playoff wins in the last 13 years with his team. Any decent coach with the talent he's had over the years would have at least 2 more SB wins on his resume

 

The Steeler Way as you put it, died the second Tomlin decides to sign Mike Vick. That is not the Steeler way.
Tomlin jumping onto the field during that Ravens game is not the Steeler way
All the drama involving Ben, AB, Harrison, DJ, Pickett, etc. is not the Steeler way.

Other than all the talk about doing things the Steeler way, what exactly has he done to uphold that reputation?

 

We are living and dying on the edge rushers. Where are the blitzes by ILB, Safeties, and CB?

Our run defense has been average to below average for quite awhile now.

 

Woohoo another X’s and O’s!

 

Who really knows, but I seriously doubt it. Tomlin could hand pick his 53 man roster with any of the players available in the NFL, and would still find a way to blow it

 

I get the use of hyperbole, but this is just silly.

 

Maybe, but I'm semi serious

 

I am with you Steelresolve...nice write-up. I have been a big supporter of Tomlin, but just like I was at the end with Cowher, it is time to go. I remember feeling the same about Noll.

I bet he goes somewhere else (he is still young) and has success, but this team has stopped listening to him and it is time for a change.

That said, I really doubt he gets fired and I am not sure he would get traded, so maybe we have one more year of this, who knows.

 

I compared you’re pros and cons and you have your opinion but how could a coach that is going into the HOF, won a championship, has a stellar win/loss record in the NFL be so bad? All the negatives you listed certainly apply to Bill Belichek over the past 3 years, including the inability to develop a 1st round QB. Do you think he won 6 championships with all those flaws, or do you think it could be that they lack quality players?

 

I think he won a championship in spite if those flaws. I think Ben masked a lot if those flaws. I think he was a good coach at one point but he has changed and so has the league. I feel the exact same way about Bellicheck. It’s just time for a change. If it’s more if the same next year it is really going to devestated the franchise. So the change is either Tomlin goes or he changes the way he does things. Either way it is change. The status quo over the last three seasons is unacceptable. We have made bad free agent signings and extensions because we thought we were close.
Ryan Clark even said it. The old Steelers drafted the best available player when he played. During the end of Ben’s career we thought we were still close and started drafting for need and reached in picks. Najee was a perfect example. We could have drafted Creed at Center and solidified the Center position for a decade but we went with Najee instead. Resigning Okorafor and DJ to big contracts was reckless in hindsight. Not developing the guard that we traded to the Rams who will be a Probowler this year and replacing him with a high priced free agent signing. These are all reflections of poor coaching, poor player development. Just not being excellent and serving the team well.
We used to cherry pick free agents like a James Farrior off other teams and turn them into stars here. Now the reverse is happening.

you know your team is bad when free agents leave and play better and high pedigree free agents come in and do worse.

 

I agree with you but then if it isn’t an ego thing then it is an acumen thing meaning Tomlin’s ability to evaluate talented coaches is lacking or Rooney is calling the shots and forcing coordinators on Tomlin which in that case you would think Tomlin would want to leave for greener pastures.

All of the above senarios aren’t good and to me all of them point to needing a change.

 

Did the GM or ownership have any hand in the decisions you cite?

 

Belichick is about 20 years older, but I heard a report this morning that the Patriots are going to move on from him after this season. They are probably going to try to trade him, but even at 71, he's going to be a more enticing trade candidate than Tomlin.

 

Jay Glazer who is personal friends with Tomlin suggested a trade to Washington. I doubt Goazer makes that suggestion without Tomlin’s blessing. Tomlin is from that area. Who knows. If we could get a first secondly and third who knows.

 

I believe they all sit down and discuss a direction they want to take before the decisions are made. I would assume those decisions are heavily weighted and influenced by them being educated by Tomlin on the football side of things.

 

Even so his personality may not mesh well with all teams or owners. But I would think that would be a good thing for Tomlin and only increase his marketability on the trade market. The Uber in Washington and Carolina both have familiarity with Tomlin and the Steelers as they were former minority owners in Pittsburgh. I think there would be plenty of suitors and this would be the ideal year to make that change. Even Chicago but I doubt they would give up the first overall pick for Tomlin.

 

Obviously more cons than pros. Obviously.

 

That very well could be. I personally don’t know all the processes they use. I’m not disputing that there are problems and things can get much better. I also know that if you put another coach in his place, they wouldn’t do any better. It seems that there are many problems that include things he’s done, but people seem to think that will be a magic bullet, but I don’t think it will.

 

To simplify, Tom Brady and Ben R. made Belichek and Tomlin a lot better. Bill was not so great in Cleveland. Got the NFL's luckiest pick ever for 6 rounder. Brady gone Pats suck.

An elite or above average QB hides a ton of flaws. Although both Coaches are better then so many who have coached in the NFL.

 

I agree with you and I’d add that Cowher was average until Ben arrived. All I’ve been saying is that many people are putting all their eggs in the new coach basket. People don’t like to admit it but they were pressured into taking Pickett in the first round and memories of Marino were thrown around. I went to Louisville and was on this blog saying draft Lamar late in the first when we took Edmonds. People trashed me about not wanting another slash. They said the same thing about Willis (I didn’t want him either and thank god they didn’t) but they used the same analogy and begged for Pickett. I think he was a reach and was probably a third round pick.