Mike Tomlin is the 3rd best head coach ...

Someone else that gets it.

 

I doubt that anyone here thinks he walks on water. I'd be surprised if anyone here believes that he ranks in the top 5 among NFL head coaches. Some fans just give him more credit than others. That's understandable due to his early success.

 

I think giving Tomlin credit as an HC goes way beyond 'early success' (lest we ever forget, with Cowher's players... sigh).

I give credit to Tomlin, but I also find a lot of the criticisms of him tend to be quite myopic and over-simplistic. So my defence of Tomlin is usually a response against those, rather than claiming he's the Xnth best coach or whatever.

 

I went third. Think Marvin Lewis and hairbag are 2 and 1

 

ah man, can we have 4 more choices?

 

after yesterday's game harbaugh is walking in water
a pool of tears to be precise
and "I had to take a penalty because the refs let them use a formation we never saw before "
really? best coach in our division never heard of a timeout?
I'm not saying tomlin is the best head coach in the nfl but I'm giving him best in our division

 

The Ravens have fewer players on their defense from their 2012 superbowl team than the Steelers had on their defense this year from their 2005 superbowl team. What that tells me is, the Ravens front office is doing a better job at replacing players than the Steelers are. Just look at their RB situation this year compared to the Steelers. Ray Rice was lost, and they replaced him with Pierce, who was replaced by Foster who was signed for depth. The Steelers' RB depth was non-existent. The front office failed to adequately replace Blount. That, and they drafted Archer. Now, I understand Tomlin has a say in personnel, but he is not the general manager, he is the coach. When Tomlin had great players, he did great things as coach.

BTW, both teams - Ravens and Steelers won 11 games this year. If Bell wasn't injured, Steelers may well be playing in the championship game next week. Screw Hairball, I voted Tomlin as the best in the AFC North.

 

Tomlin is lucky enough to be the third best HC on the Steelers, (now that Lebeau is gone) let alone the AFC North....

In all seriousness I think he's a hair behind Hairball as the best in the North. While Tomlin has been to two Super Bowls, I think the Ravens are more consistently good (have they missed the playoffs yet under JH?) which gives the nod to Mr. Douchebag. Those two 8-8 seasons push Tomlin into 2nd for me.

 

The rats have had some subpar seasons as well. That's why they don't get to play at home in the playoffs. They didn't even control their own destiny this year. Ben would actually have a better playoff record than he does if not for the fact that we've had bye weeks.

 

It's sad that despite the team's past success, 80% of the voting sees Tomlin as lacking. I'm not trying to convince anyone, beat a dead horse, or stir up animosity. Just want to provide the reasons I gave Lewis (average) the edge ie pushing Tomlin to third:

Perhaps Tomlin just seems to be missing some basic skills one would might expect out of any average NFL HC? Obviously, even a min. standard HC should have a grasp of clock management, player evaluation (development), or rudimentary halftime adjustments. Obviously, after close to a decade, any average HC would have a single thing (initiative) one could point to as "their own". Obviously, an average HC, of any tenure, would have an easily recognizable skill beyond being "one of the guys". Obviously, any head coach has as part of his duties; to represent the organization to fans via media, in a respectful manner with a professional attitude. An average NFL HC has the ability and depth to demonstrate understanding of the game without mock-worthy fallback platitudes. Obviously, an average HC doesn't habitually slow start seasons by apathetic training camp (conditioning) + lazy pre-seasons + appearing unprepared for the first half of the season. An average HC shouldn't lose nigh every game against below 50% teams? Obviously, an average HC shouldn't whiff on entire drafting classes... over and over. Obviously, an average HC shouldn't require an entire staff of former HCs to act as training wheels.

That's my current opinion... and of course, nothing would be better than to be proven wrong next year by Coach T (without BA-DL).

 

This....for obvious reasons.

 

Crap stirrer! Thats all this thread is for!

 

How can Tomlin be third? Lewis never won a playoff game, and Tomlin has been to 2 Super Bowls and never had a losing season. This is what I think of this poll

 

The Ravens missed the playoffs in 2013, and Harbaugh is a whiny little blank.

 

Marvin Lewis? I think he gets fired this year

 

Because QBs matter.

 

So what, then why did the Bungles give Dalton 100 million then? Tomlin could win another Super Bowl and you fans would still be complaining about him get real.

 

I voted Mike Tomlin best head coach in the AFC North.

 

Hard as it may be to believe, that's what average starting QBs get these days.

 

This.

 

I voted second best based on the way the ratbirds seem to come out for every game. The players appear ready, their game plan seems ready, their players seem to play as a team.

All of these things lead me to believe that (and I don't want to admit it) the ratbirds have it together more.

Is this because maybe the FO has more control in Pittsburgh?