Bill Cowher vs. Mike Tomlin

Bill Cowher went to the Super Bowl once, lost and made the playoffs 8 times in his first 12 seasons. At the end of that 12th season his team was 6-10. MANY people called for him to be fired on the old message boards and radio because he couldn't seem to win the big one and the "culture" in the locker room was bad. The Rooney's never caved to the pressure, Cowher drafted Roethlisberger, won a Super Bowl and is now loved as a Steelers coach. Would we have won the Super Bowl if Cowher was fired?

Tomlin's contract is not up until 2020 and I don't expect the Rooney's to cave to pressure now. But something has to change. Tomlin's approach to coaching needs to change. Stop being a players coach and bring discipline back. Hold players AND coaches accountable. Be prepared for every game like it's the playoffs and DOMINATE your opponents. Be ready to make in game changes if needed.

The entire Defensive philosophy HAS to change. We were exposed last year and even in some critical games this year. It's an ongoing issue. I'd fire EVERY Coach on Defense and start over. The new coaches can evaluate the players and CUT anyone they deem useless.

Will Tomlin change? Will the team change enough to get us over the hump to another Supberbowl win? Will Tomlin then fade off into the sunset with a Super Bowl trophy and become another beloved Steelers coach? I certainly hope so but only time will tell.

 

Cowher was a better playoff coach than Tomlin, even with the AFCCG chokes.

 

Not really. In 12 seasons they both made the playoffs 8 times. Cowher was 7-8 and Tomlin is 8-7

 

Wet blanket vs Tomlin.. Give me the wet blanket

 

Cowher built a defense but did not have a qb so he could not go all the way. Tomlin has/had incredible offensive talent but only 3 playoff wins once our defense died in 2010.

 

Tomlin's team lost to Tebow.. That might as well count as 5 playoff losses. The Steelers are still made a mockery of to this day because of that game.

 

So your saying that Tomlin has the offense but not the defense. I concur. The defense needs a big change. Losing Shazier really hurt our progress to getting a great defense. I want to see changes like trading up to get a defense player that could be a game changer or spending money in free agency to get a impact players. The D philosophy and personal need a big overhaul.

 

If Cowher had Ben as QB to work with (for Ben`s whole career) , I think he wins several Super Bowls.

 

The '11 team had many injuries going into the Tebow game.

Cowher's loss to the Chargers was a hundred times worse, IMO. Worst playoff loss in Steelers history.

 

Ughhh you know how much therapy I needed to get that out of my mind. I'm going to have to make another appointment now!

 

Having a QB goes a long way. Look at how Seattle and indy were supposed to be "rebuilding" but are now in the playoffs because their QBs carried them there. Having a elite level QB is a big discrepancy.

 

Cowher had leadership skills and instilled those traits in his players that made them a team. Tomlin does not so they will never be a team.

 

This stat you just posted is so misleading it's completely ridiculous.

Tomlin took over a SB team with a HOF QB. He won some playoff games with that team Cowher built. Since 2010 we have won 3 playoff games. End of conversation. 1 of those wins was a present from the Bengals...and when I say present...there was no chance of us winning that game until the Bengals just said "here take it, we don't want it!" and walked off the field. We were beaten....and we choked the following week. So really we've won 2 playoff games in 8 years.

BTW the Packers just fired their coach....the guy who beat us in our last SB appearance. If the packers had the playmakers we have had the last 8 years does McCarthy lose his job?

 

I don't know about that bro. That Chargers team had some quality players.

Humphries was decent
N. Means was a truck
Seau was a beast

They matched up so well with the Steelers. It was uncanny how they resembled the Steelers.

 

losing to tebow was a disgrace lmao dude couldnt even throw a football and steelers were 12-4

 

Oh God no.
The Chargers were a good team. The Broncos were 8-8

 

I’ve got no dog in this fight, but I’d point out...

For only his first year did Tomlin have Ben on a rookie contract; the rest of the time, Ben’s been the team’s largest-percentage cap hit.

If Cowher had a franchise QB with a franchise QB’s price-tag, he’d have had millions less to pay elsewhere. Including to the stars on that incredible defense.

There is no free lunch.

 

So you would have fired Cowher after his 12th season at 6-10 having never won a Super Bowl and having a losing playoff record? Is that correct?

 

Nice try. Why not have an honest debate? Expectations have everything to do with it. If you think taking over a bad team with no QB should have the same expectations as the team Tomlin has had over the last 8 years then there's no point on having the discussion.

 

Tomlin inherited the oldest defense in the NFL. IMO Cowher left at least 2 SBs on the table having nothing to do with QB play but rather inability to game plan defensively. Similar to today’s defensive issues- the same week as* zone defenses getting picked apart by Brady et al

 

I hear what your saying. But I just don't blame it all on Tomlin. Tomlin drafted almost all the players on offense and we are one of the best offenses in the league. Does he get credit for that or no? If he's fired and someone else comes in and wins a Super Bowl does Tomlin get the credit like you are giving the credit to Cowher for?

Sometimes **** happens and the coach can only do so much. How many times was Bell hurt for the playoffs? How many games did he miss because of suspension that maybe cost us a regular season game and playoff position later that year? The Bengals playoff win sure was a gift but not before Burfict completely annihilated Brown causing our best player to miss the subsequent playoff game that we lost. How is that on Tomlin? If Brown plays the next week maybe we win and go on to win a Super Bowl?

They were on there way to building a very good defense anchored by Shazier. Losing him was devastating leaving a giant hole in the middle of our defense. They haven't fully recovered from this yet and cost them IMO last year and this year. You can go back to some games last year and some games this year where our D was exposed. This has got to be fixed and doing the sam ol same ol won't cut it. The window is closing quickly on offense

I think we need to give Tomlin more time. Just not a big believer in firing coaches. They didn't fire Cowher and it worked out for us. Let Tomlin finish out his contract and maybe it will again.

I'm sorry I think I'm rambling trying to make some kind of point that if the Rooney's listened to everyone that wanted Cowher fired we might not have gotten our "one for the thumb"

 

Tomlin was the breath of fresh air a team that Cowher had ground into the dirt trying to get to and win a SB desperately needed.
He came into a great situation at the perfec time. I'm not trying to take away from any of that. We probably don't win another one immediately after Cowher without a personality like Tomlins
I'm also not into the debate between the two . It's not who was better . It's who will lead this team into the future and get back to the team we were all once proud of ,win or lose. Tomlin has created this loose attitude with the team by being their buddy. There is no way he can flip the script and suddenly become a disciplinarian. It won't work with what we already have in place. Look what happens when anyone starts to question Ben and tries to control him...As far as changing the defense how long have we been saying this and it hasn't changed that much. I'm afraid there's no switch that can be flipped at this point. The only thing that can be done is to try and circle the wagons and try to get as many guys back onboard for one more crack at this. SB or bust next year for Tomlin. It's the only way.....

 

You could also say that Cower spent those years building up to a dynamite team. Tomlin spent the rest digressing into this mess. -

 

BS, the Redskins won 3 SB with three different QBs.

 

I don't think you do "hear what I'm saying" . It has to do with expectations. The team Tomlin took over was a loaded team that were SB favorites. That's just fact. I'm not comparing Tomlin to Cowher - I'm comparing the teams both coaches took over. 1 coach took over a team that was a mess. That coach brought in an entirely new scheme and coaching staff and rebuilt the team. The other coach took over a playoff team with a HOF QB, pro bowl offensive weapons, and one of the best defenses in the league. He also took over a staff of experienced coaches and a scheme everyone knew like the back of their hands.

Cowher didn't get fired because he consistently did more with less. He built the teams he had, made a run at a SB when no one thought it was possible. That team then fell apart due to age, free agency, etc and he rebuilt the entire team again and again made them a SB contender. So it was understandable why he was allowed to have a couple bad seasons to turn it around. Once he landed Ben we were world beaters.

Tomlin has had the talent to win. It all starts and ends with the QB. Mediocre QB's win SB's once in a great while... it's a fluke. Tomlin has had one of the best QB's in the league and has won 2 playoff games in 8 years. end of conversation. I'll give him credit for all of it. Good and bad... still comes down to the fact that we have expectations of being a SB team and have won 2 playoff games since losing to the Packers in the Sb. You also can't ignore the horrible losses to bad teams...and there's many of them. Now ad in the chaos and drama and good players wanting to play elsewhere it kinda says this isn't working.