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Tomlin has been the Steelers head coach for 14 years -- why no coaching tree?

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Benny Lava, Nov 30, 2021.

  1. Benny Lava

    Benny Lava Well-Known Member

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    Mike Tomlin has been head coach for 14 years of the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the greatest NFL franchises ever. He has won a Super Bowl. He one of the best coaches ever, by W-L record. He is considered a top 3 NFL head coach today.

    My question is: For a coach of his experience and stature why doesn't he seem to have a coaching tree?

    Look at guys like Holmgren, Parcells, Schottenheimer and Belichick. Evidence: https://www.washingtonpost.com/grap...coaching-trees-connecting-every-active-coach/

    Dozens of assistants from those head coaches have gone on to become NFL head coaches themselves.

    Why hasn't this happened with Tomlin? And before you mention Munchak, he was head coach BEFORE he ever worked for Tomlin so Tomlin doesn't get to claim him as one of his own.
     
  2. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

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    :popcorn:
     
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  3. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    Tomlin taught Bruce Arians how to win Super Bowls.;)

    I remember fans bitched about Arians during his stay in Pittsburgh. According to him he got booed at one of the Steelers SB parades.
     
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  4. troybellringer55

    troybellringer55 Well-Known Member

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    We don't need a coaching tree. We need to smoke some trees......
     
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  5. Jammasterc

    Jammasterc Well-Known Member

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    He didn’t get booed, it was W Gay and his red jumpsuit!
    Hahahahahahaha!
     
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  6. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    Y’all used to say similar stupid ****e about Arians. If he was any good why isn’t he a head coach? Oops he is a a head coach. Coach of the year and a super bowl winning coach. Here come the but but but brady. Tom Brady still living rent free in your heads.
     
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  7. MadtownDruankard

    MadtownDruankard Well-Known Member

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    upload_2021-11-30_13-28-37.jpeg
    Tomlin’s coaching tree
     

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  8. SpeedyMikeWallace

    SpeedyMikeWallace Well-Known Member

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    Arians was a good OC aside from one bad habit, and that was getting cute near the goalline. But that hasn't stopped since he left, as Haley and Fichtner seemed to do it, too. So the common denominator there is Mike T.
     
  9. DukeDukeDaDaDa

    DukeDukeDaDaDa Well-Known Member

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    Why do people always use that Brady living in your head rent free ****? He's in the Super Bowl almost every frickin year, how can he not be in people's minds and them be sick of him?
     
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  10. DukeDukeDaDaDa

    DukeDukeDaDaDa Well-Known Member

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    The funny thing is people who think Tomlin was the one who let Arians go. That had Art written all over it. The botched retirement story confirms it.
     
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  11. Benny Lava

    Benny Lava Well-Known Member

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    Everyone citing Bruce Arians....Arians started coaching 20 years before Tomlin. Arians is almost 70 years old, started in 1975. Tomlin is almost 50 years old and started in 1995.

    Arians first joined the Steelers in 2004, 3 years before Tomlin did. He actually left in 2006, a year before Tomlin was hired. He then came back in 2007 and stayed until 2011 as OC.

    I guess one could argue Arians is part of Tomlin's tree, but the fact that he started at the Steelers years before Tomlin was hired, and that he's coached for 20 more years than Tomlin, weighs against that.

    Plus, Arians has arguably been more successful than Tomlin as a HC. He was COTY with the Colts, COTY again with the Cardinals, made the playoffs 3/4 years with the Cardinals, won a Super Bowl with the Bucs and is a good bet to win another Super Bowl this year.
     
  12. KMM

    KMM Well-Known Member

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    Arians is a two time CoY, BTW.

    Regardless, the whole coaching tree thing is overrated, imo. I'm not exactly sure what its supposed to represent. Are we to actually subscribe Belichick props for Matt Patricia at the Lions? Or Adam Gase anywhere?
     
  13. Benny Lava

    Benny Lava Well-Known Member

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    The coaching tree indicates 2 things:

    1. The head coach is adept at picking good assistants.
    2. The head coach is adept at developing his assistants.

    Both valuable skills to have in a head coach, in my opinion.
     
  14. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    Yep. This is exactly where we got to the last time this was raised in a thread, as I recall. The whole notion of the coaching tree is a bit flimsy, unless it’s about the spread of a particular scheme or style like the west coast offense etc.
     
  15. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

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    Arians is a better HC than coordinator. In a reverse example, Wade Phillips is a better coordinator than HC. It happens.
     
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  16. Disco1981

    Disco1981 Well-Known Member

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    Hall Monitor Glemm?
     
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  17. Disco1981

    Disco1981 Well-Known Member

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    McDaniels is the poster boy for this logic
     
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  18. Disco1981

    Disco1981 Well-Known Member

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    And Popcorn has neither
     
  19. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    Incidentally, Arians was an assistant coach for Schottenheimer, Mora, Cowher and Pagano as well as Tomlin.

    Which shows how nonsensical coaching trees are.

    Still, if we’re counting Arians in Tomlins tree then it gives him a far better W-L record than the likes of Sean Payton or Ron Rivera’s trees…
     
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  20. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    We have gone through this before in order to have a coaching tree you must have a philosophy that can be adapted and molded over the course of a career that you can pass on to others. This is what makes the staff attractive to teams with head coaching vacancies because they want that same type in their organization. Tomlin's style is that of the blind master in Kung-fu. He is there to guide not forge so it isn't something that can be learned or taught.
     
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  21. Benny Lava

    Benny Lava Well-Known Member

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    So Tomlin has no coaching philosophy? Is that a positive thing?
     
  22. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

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    Cowher was accused constantly of being "Marty Jr." before Roethlisberger was drafted.
     
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  23. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    No his philosophy is being in the moment. Each season is a story in itself and at the end of the year a new story starts. It's a very player friendly style of coaching but it doesn't build upon itself.
     
  24. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    because of the dumb **** y’all post. Y’all will be on your deathbeds whining about Brady. It’s freaking hilarious to me. It’s a Steelers message board and damn near every thread someone will bring up Brady/patriots/belichek.
     
  25. KMM

    KMM Well-Known Member

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    If you go on this site you can see connections better. http://graphics.wsj.com/nfl-coaches/

    Chuck Noll has very few on his tree: Dungy, Bud Carson, Rod Rust, and John Fox. Given the success he had and how long he coached, that's nothing.
    Cowher had a bit more: Lebeau, Whisenhunt, Mularkey, Capers, Gailey, Arians, Haslett, Marvin Lewis. Lebeau also worked for Forrest Gregg, Bruce Coslett, Bart Starr, and Sam Wyche, so I'm not at all sure that either Tomlin or Cowher should get any credit for him or Arians. Haslett first coached in the NFL under Art Shell and Jim Mora. I'll have to deduct points from Cowher anyway for hiring Kevin Gilbride.

    Whatever. There hardly seems to be any correlation and there also seems to be no reason to give certain coaches credit given stints elsewhere.
     

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