The lethal combination of Tomlin and Rooney

Premise 1 is just flat out false, "Tomlin couldnt win playoff games". The guy literally won a Superbowl and went to another one, how do you think he got there? Tomlin has been in 19 playoff games and has won 8 of them, its not the greatest record but people try to paint a picture of a coach who just couldnt win in the playoffs and it just doesnt lineup with reality.

 

I appreciate the input, and I really appreciate the fact that the majority of people probably agree regarding tomlin.

Just because you disagree with the facts doesn't make them opinion, they are very simple facts.

 

I think MT expected team leaders to do much of the talking to the headcases. That might work with low-level players but probably not as well with superstars.

 

i swear i thought i read somewhere or heard on the news that tomlin left the steelers? lol

 

I don't think you're wrong that he started to break down when we let him go.

But it was nothing like what he did with the Raiders. Gruden (who has always been billed as a bad ass take no BS coach) could barely handle him for a single offseason. They got rid of him 6 after the trade. And most of those months had no football related activity. He didn't play a single game.

Re: Bold part in your post. As stated upthread, I think this was because discipline happened behind closed doors and not in public.

I also think that fans tend to think more of the issues we hear about Steelers players because it's the team we follow. Rather than comparing issues we have vs. other teams.

Re: Claypool. Nothing illegal like AB. But IIRC he was quickly calling out the coaches and QB for him sucking. Gemini says "Claypool's brief tenure was characterized by a lack of on-field production, poor blocking effort, and frustration with the coaching staff. After a fallout and questioning by the media regarding his effort, he was told to stay away from the team in October 2023. Shortly after, the Bears traded him to the Miami Dolphins in a late-round draft pick swap". So kind of like DJ I guess...

You may be right that Tomlin's ability to control players gets exaggerated. But I'd imagine that the exaggerations run much more in the way of tearing Tomlin down rather than building him up.

I wasn't on this board while Tomlin was our HC. But I know how it was on the board I came from. And I think it was a lot more like the OP than people exaggerating how good Tomlin was. But I also think that Tomlin was basically as good as Cowher (good but not great IMO). So that probably colors my perspective.

 

Tomlin retired

 

Dude...these are just parroted talking points that everyone has heard 1,000,000 times.

There's at least some truth in at least some of them.

 

This is possible he is back as head coach with another team in 2027

 

It is possible a monkey could type war and peace

 

Why do new posters show up and just repeat the same crap, Tomlin is gone move on .

 

Was Mike McCarthy fired and they hired Mike Tomlin as head coach of the Steelers again?

Is it January 2026 and we're discussing the current coach's shortcomings and trying to figure out what the team might do?

This is like Twilight Zone level stuff here.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm really looking forward to this upcoming season and seeing what the future holds for this football team. There is a time and a place to discuss Mike Tomlin's legacy and how the operation ran with him at the helm from a comparison standpoint, but this isn't it.

A couple weeks before the 2026 preseason games seems like an odd time to start a thread bashing Mike Tomlin. We've all been Steelers fans for a long time and we all have our own thoughts on the subject, but now our focus should be forward, not backward.

Here's to the success of this year's Steelers team, led by Mike McCarthy as head coach.

He's the man leading this team, and he's the next guy with a bullseye on his back for fans to take aim at.

 

I just hope the 2026 steelers coach is not the hot topic of discussion. Never a good sign when they are.