Good article on Tomlin and Cowher

Tomlin is a student of the game. He knows how to make players and the team better. Two examples that come off the top of my head are what John Lync and Troy Polamalu stated in regard to Tomlin. Tomlin helped to coach up a historic defense in 2008. There are references out there if people choose to listen.

Tomlin delegates and allows his coaches to coach without much interference. It appears that coaches respect and like working with Tomlin.

It's been stated that Tomlin has his players prepared. Tomlin has the respect of his players. Players love to play for Tomlin. Tomlin has confidence that his players will get the job done.

Tomlin is a leader that knows how to help his teams win. Coaches don't usually make that much of a difference unless their players are good enough.

 

I'm not going to right a novel Jack! My point has less to do with Tomlin and more to do with the same people recycling the same complaints about Tomlin in every other post! My gosh it gets old after a while whether it's valid or not!
I personally could care less who the coach is as long as he produces good results and Tomlin has done that better than a whole bunch of currant and former NFL coaches !

 

I don't care what the players say, I care about the result on the field. Time and time again our players have come out flat and unprepared, definitely not the other way around. I also don't see how on earth anyone can say he makes our players better. It's not common for our high potential guys to pan out these days, most fall flat on their faces. Tomlin isn't getting the most out of our guys, if he was then maybe we would actually have a good Oline

 

Lol!

 

The comparisons have gotten old for sure. But here are the facts, Cowher left a lot to be scrutinized year in and out. How about after his first S.B. Win? Flat out flat and unprepared look on his boys throughout the campaign the following season. sure Ben had his ordeal, and then an appendectomy as well... But the team never played with fire. Super Bowl hangover? Who knows.

Cowher's teams faired so well that he never had a chance to draft a top tier QB? Well if he hadn't, tell me who the savior was because the QB position was in quite the lull those days say for a couple and a late rounder in Brady that everyone missed on. Cowher never had THE QB per se, but had the team talent and quite a few times lost games he shouldn't have since we're comparing. If the Ravens could win with Trent Dilfer, then I really believe we could have won a couple more in Bills heyday.

Noll had his moments, but I don't recall a game where the players weren't prepared... Outclassed for sure, but never NOT game to game if you know what I mean. Each coach is different. Every team has their moment and the dreaded dark ages appear. Happened to Noll, was off and on with the chin, and mike has had quite a bit of success as well only to hit another lull the last couple of seasons.

I like Mike, there are things I'd like to see more of from him but that's just me. Is he our best option? Who knows. Do I think another coach would make a difference? It's all substantial anyhow.

would I like to see us get more out of our players/picks at more of a rapid rate? Absolutely... And would I like to see late rounders matter more? For sure. some coaches have that knack.

Mike, is really no different from his predecessors as far as the *****ing and moaning dept goes. I mean, tell the truth! Towards the end, it was bitter with Noll... The true fans know it... But it had to happen either way. The Chin, he's been lambasted by more fans than I can count and for good reasons honestly. Anybody that knows football history knows that Bill is a Marty ball guy, and it cost him just as it did Marty with some good Chiefs teams and some good Chargers teams. They just never knew when to say screw it and let it all go. Been said for years... Regardless of not having the QB!

mike is a curious guy though, we have no idea of what if any identity he has or will soon place on his team. I was hoping for more of his D tendencies, but it seems he let Dick keep the reins. Good or bad? Who knows.

Dick's 3-4 tenacities have been exploited over the years, with or without the required horses. Mike's beloved Tampa 2 is pretty much in the same category... Great at one time but long figured out. Sure if you have the 11 to dominate with, then some good comes of it of course. But, if your adversary know how to systematically beat it with lesser talent that believe they can, well now you might understand the reasons we lose when we shouldn't.

but I agree, along with an old done figured out system... We still seem flat and unprepared a lot of the time. Players or coaches? Scheme? Who knows.

all I know is Mike ain't going anywhere for the next few months and probably longer than that wether he's earned the right or not, but please drop the chin from the debate. Old timers have been far more pissed at his results than what we've seen thus far from his replacement.

Cant win win em all, regardless

 

you bring up an interesting point that I am to lazy to look up. when you think about it over the past, lets say 3 seasons. who has been consistent and won a championship? no repeat champs and some haven't even made the playoffs.

if you ask me this is a league of inconsistency. not trying to justify it. just saying every fan base faces this question, if you ask me

 

I believe in stability as a franchise more than most.

I'm not calling out changes in coaching or GM work every year.

This year, I would have fired Kevin Colbert. I have said that numerous times and remain adamant that I think that would have shaken up this franchise to better and brighter things. I would NOT have fired Tomlin. I would have removed/lowered his say in the draft room, but for the most part, I would have let him prove to me he can still coach a team to success (with an easy schedule!). And I would have let a new GM evaluate Tomlin in a fair way.

If my new GM came to me after this year and said Tomlin is doing a good job, I would have said great. Let's move forward together.

I have never asked for Tomlin's "head". I didn't agree with the hire, but I have never said after a season that firing him is the best course of action. I might change my mind on that after this season but we will see.

I plan on having 16 more games (maybe more) of evaluation to determine that analysis.

 

I really don't know if it's a league of inconsistency or not. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying that I think of it more as an extreeeemely COMPETITIVE league and games are just always coming down to 1 or 2 key plays that turn out to be huge in the grand scheme of things. I think that's why it is so difficult to repeat or even make the playoffs multiple years in a row. I was just saying this the other day to someone. In the last few years we've seen teams that are BARELY above .500 winning the Super Bowl. To win consistently in this league I think you pretty much have to throw "loyalty" out the window and the very second that a guy even STARTS to lose a step you have to let him go. I honestly think that's why the Pats have stayed a contender is because Bill will kick guys to the curb if they even begin to slightly decline. He has an absolute killer instinct and it makes him come across as "cold" and all that but I think you have to have that in the business world and that is exactly what the NFL is. It is a business.

 

The Chin had us in the hunt year in year out without a Franchise QB. When he finally got one we won the big one. Tada! He left him here and Tomlin rolled right with it, rightfully so, to another one. Cha-Ching

I like Tomlin and besides we're Steelers' fans here so let's be real and acknowledge he's going to be our coach for a long long time, deal with it.

With that stated, I do find it inherently petrifying that those who don't like what he's doing can't just say so without being outcast to the Nederlands.

 

Someone asked Tomlin once if he felt like he had the ultimate job security in being our coach. He then made a point that MAYBE he uses to keep himself grounded or whatever but he said "yeah Noll and Cowher were here a long time but they also won games". I highly doubt that even if we have a LOSING season this year that Tomlin loses his job. That is a good point to think about though.

 

Telling it like it is.But still a free pass.

 

The results on the field were mostly good under Tomlin. Even last season there were positives if you choose to look. The team finished playing better the 2nd half of the season.

I am not sure how someone can measure flat??? It's the players job to come ready to play. It's the players job to be prepared to play. How do we determine if the team was unprepared when the other teams get paid to be prepared too? However, if the team was unprepared they wouldn't have won much under Tomlin. I think some people mix up flat and unprepared for execution. The problem with this team was mostly execution by the players and injuries. Especially during the first 4 games of last season.

Several of the Steelers high potential guys panned out. Several of the Steelers draft picks got better under Tomlin. MOST players drafted into the league don't pan out. Perspective my friend, perspective.
The Oline is a bad example due to the amount of injuries they suffered over the years. Even still, there are players that developed into good players on this Oline. Pouncey, Decastro, Beachum, and Gilbert have all developed under this coaching staff. The key will be to remain healthy and develop more consistency. There are other players that developed on this team if you choose to look. Some of those players are still with the team and other moved on to other teams.

 

Thanks TTF for the laughter and a coffee covered puter screen. Thinking this is twice now i had to do a cleanup over this hilarious gif.

 

Both Tomlin and Cowher have their shortcomings. I do think that some people seem to forget that Cowher missed the playoffs in 5 out of his last 9 seasons. At the end of the day it comes down to talent on the roster. George Seifert won two Super Bowls but failed in Carolina. Belichick failed in Cleveland .....

 

A lot of people seem to be talking about how we were good for "half" of last season. I think I have a really innovative solution. Some teams go with a 1-2 punch in the backfield. Maybe we should go with a 1-2 punch at Head Coach and just let Cowher coach half the year and then Tomlin the second half? Then if we make the AFC Championship we put in Tomlin since Cowher has a bad record there? Then if we make the SB we have a "coaching controversy" and let Mr. Rooney decide who gets to coach that one since they are both 1-1 there. We could let Cowher coach the season openers since Tomlin has lost his last 3. We could let Tomlin coach our home playoff games since his home playoff record is better. We could let Cowher coach our road playoff games since his road record is better. Also we could let Cowher deal with the media to keep the cliches and platitudes to a minimum. Tomlin's cliche record is much higher than Cowher's. Does THAT sound like a solution?

 

James Harrison said Peezy coaching is a good thing. They need something like that a little fire.

Something has been just a bit off, IMO.

I agree w/ James.

 

Yeah I also like the fact that Porter is gonna let them have it. There was a play in the preseason where Garvin just half heartedly hit a guy on a play and you could see Joey on the sidelines going OFF! I mean he ripped his headset off and everything. I really think the only sorta "fireballs" are probably Haley and Porter. Although Haley might be more of a hothead than a fireball.

 

For those saying Bill never had a franchise QB, let's not forget that he never really wanted one. So really that's on him. From what I remember he was ready to pass on Ben as well.

 

This just about says it all for me, dobbler - you put into words exactly what I think on this issue.

 

There are so many points being made on this thread that it is hard to address them all. But here is where I think Cook's logic is flawed:

Cowher coached mostly in a whole different era. In the 90s, there were powerhouse football teams. There wasn't as much parity. It was an era of the franchise QB (Aikman, Favre, Kelly, Marino, Elway, Moon). Furthermore, there was essentially "uncapped" free agency: signing bonuses did not count against the cap. Because of this, the Steelers had difficulty competing in free agency. They lost a lot of talent over that decade. In Cowher's first seven years as an NFL coach, 1992-1998, just four different teams won the Super Bowl: Dallas, San Fran, Green Bay, and Denver. In Tomlin's first seven years, SIX different teams won the Super Bowl: Giants, Steelers (of course), New Orleans, Green Bay, Baltimore, and Seattle. Here are the Super-Bowl winning QB's in Cowher's first seven years: Aikman, Young, Favre, Elway (ALL HOFers). Here are the Super Bowl winning QBs in Tomlin's first seven years: Eli, Ben, Brees, Rodgers, Flacco, and Wilson. Back in the 90s, you didn't have 9-7 and 10-6 wild cards making runs.

My point is this: Cowher was fighting an uphill battle with O'Donnell and Kordell at QB. Aside from 1994, in a game that was an incredible fluke, the Steelers lost AFC Champ games because they were playing a BETTER TEAM. 1997: Elway and the Broncos went on to win it. 2001 and 2004: Brady and the Pats went on to win it. In his two AFC Champ games at home, Tomlin faced...wait for it, wait for it...Flacco and Sanchez. And he very nearly lost to both!!!!

Furthermore, let's be honest with ourselves: Tomlin doesn't coach in two Super Bowls if A) Brady doesn't go down in 2008; B) The Jets don't upset the Pats in the divisional playoffs in 2010. And furthermore, Tomlin probably doesn't win SB XLIII if the Cardinals don't make a miracle run in the NFC. Heck, the Steelers were close to becoming the first team to lose a Super Bowl to a 9-7 club. In typical Tomlin-team fashion, they blew a 4th quarter lead (IN THE SUPER BOWL!) Roethlisberger and Holmes saved Tomlin's butt.

What I see from Tomlin is a team that is unprepared to play, week after week. They consistently struggle against the bottom-feeders of the NFL. When you have Ben at QB (and the trip of WRs he had for a while) there is NO excuse for losing to the likes of Oakland and Tennessee (or struggling against them). In 2011, the Steelers almost lost to a Tyler Palko-led Chiefs team and a Lance Painter-led Colts team.

Make no mistake: this is a rudder-less football. For the most part, Cowher had a philosophy and a strong idea of what he wanted on his team, personality-wise and talent-wise. It's not wonder why the team's personnel tended to match his philosophy. Under Tomlin, we have absolutely NO idea what kind of team this is. There is no vision. And that's why they walk on the field almost every week looking lost, despite their talent.

 

In the past three season, here are the games in which his players--and his QB--were most certainly good enough. Each of these were an embarrassing loss or a nail-biting win that shouldn't have been:

2011
W at Colts (Painter at QB) very close
W vs Chiefs (Palko at QB) very close
W vs Browns (McCoy at QB) too close for comfort
L at Broncos (Tebow at QB, only 300-yd passing game of career)

2012
L at Oakland (Palmer at QB)
L at Tennessee (Hasselbeck at QB)
W vs Chiefs (Cassel at QB) needed OT
L at Browns (Weeden at QB)

2013
L vs Tennessee (Locker at QB)
L vs Minnesota (Cassel at QB)
L at Oakland (Pryor at QB)
L vs Dolphins (Tannehill at QB)

These results do not look like those of a coach who "knows" how to help his teams win.

 

We could give Cowher's early credit to succeeding Noll.

Cowher started as a young players coach that had to transition to a traditional style just like Tomlin is now. Cowher had to rebuild a roster in the early 2000's just like Tomlin is now.

Tomlin has always had the franchise QB but Cowher had the dominant line and running game to build around. Both have had defenses.

I was not a Kordell Stewart fan and wanted a QB that was a better passer, and I blamed Cowher for keeping the guy as that was the missing link imo. Hindsight is 20/20; Cowher did good by keeping him as he was the best option. Cowher's mistake was trying to make him what he was not to please us fans. Cowher should have just played his strengths and rolled with what he was. I would have never said that back then, but that statement is spot on. He was still the weak link though, and I am still not a fan, but I will give him some credit in this post.

Tomlin has never had a good line, never. He won a Super Bowl with the worst line to ever win a Super Bowl.

Tomlin and Cowher are extremely similar. Neither is better than the other. Both deserve credit; both deserve criticism as they make millions. Tomlin can't start the sason consistently; Cowher couldn't finish the sason consistently. Maybe that is the difference between an offense built around the QB and one built around the o-line and ground game?...

I'd also like to state that Ariens is a good coach, obviously seen now. I wasn't a big fan of his when he was here. I was wrong on him. If the team could have run up the middle effectively, his offense would have been really good. More hindsight. He got criticism for predictable runs and no full back which is contradicting, foolish criticism. When a full back is in the game it is a predictable run regardless of the play. He did go with deep routes a little too much though.