This will be Mike Tomlin's last season if the Steelers don't make the playoffs? NFL nation

This will be Mike Tomlin's last season if the Steelers don't make the playoffs.



Scott Brown: Fiction. The Steelers have had just three head coaches since 1969, and patience with their field bosses has been one of the organization's hallmarks. The Steelers missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2000, and Bill Cowher rewarded the Steelers' patience with him by going 55-24-1 over the next five seasons and winning a Super Bowl. The Steelers have yet to experience a losing season under Tomlin, and he still commands his players' respect and attention. It is way too early to start speculating about his future in Pittsburgh.

Coley Harvey: Fact. If NFL history has taught us one thing about the Steelers, it's this: Mediocrity doesn't last long in Pittsburgh. After two consecutive postseason-less winters, the city that boasts the NFL's most Super Bowl victories won't bear going through a third. Tomlin might be lucky just to make it to the Monday after the regular season if the Steelers post another 8-8 record or worse this fall. Pittsburgh's ground game was an issue last season, and the club's success this season could hinge on it, too. As long as Tomlin's team can showcase some of its old multidimensional play this season, the Steelers ought to make the playoffs, sparing him a firing.

Jamison Hensley: Fact. History is obviously against me on this one. The Steelers have been the picture of stability when it comes to head coaches, and they stuck with Bill Cowher when he went three seasons without making it to the playoffs. But the landscape of the division has changed. The Cincinnati Bengals are going to be the favorite to win a second straight AFC North title. The Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers' biggest rivals, won a Super Bowl 13 months ago. Tomlin hasn't guided the Steelers to the playoffs since 2011, and he hasn't won a postseason game since beating the New York Jets in the 2010 AFC Championship Game. If Tomlin can't get the Steelers back in the playoffs, the Rooneys need to find someone who can make this team relevant again.
Pat McManamon: Fiction. Tomlin's consecutive 8-8 seasons are disappointing in Pittsburgh, but the Rooneys will not knee-jerk a guy who has yet to have a losing season. Tomlin is wading through a major roster transition, but he's never lost his team the way some coaches do. That matters to the Rooneys, who value continuity more than anyone. Bill Cowher went 7-9 and 6-10 in 1998 and '99 and stayed seven more seasons. Belief in a system is what makes Pittsburgh successful.

Pat McManamon: Fiction. Tomlin's consecutive 8-8 seasons are disappointing in Pittsburgh, but the Rooneys will not knee-jerk a guy who has yet to have a losing season. Tomlin is wading through a major roster transition, but he's never lost his team the way some coaches do. That matters to the Rooneys, who value continuity more than anyone. Bill Cowher went 7-9 and 6-10 in 1998 and '99 and stayed seven more seasons. Belief in a system is what makes Pittsburgh successful.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/121395/nfl-nation-4-downs-afc-north

 

False he will get at least one more year.

 

Unless he does something stupid, he will be fine and isn't going anywhere.

 

Fiction

 

don't think they'll can him, worst they'll do is just let his contract run out

 

I say two.

 

I wouldn't count on Tomlin getting canned any time soon. We went .500 two years in a row, its not like we contended for the first overall pick lol If we continue to get worse the next two years, then he might be in trouble... until that point he is our HC whether people on the board like it or not.

 

I think it more interesting to ponder what the mood at the top will be if the team were to sink to sub-.500 this year. Tomlin deserves the chance to right the ship, but I don't think the buck necessarily stops there. Colbert and Co. haven't done the team many favors with their scouting, development, and cap management in recent years. It is definitely a transitional phase, but as an organization, I don't feel upper management and the coaches have been clicking the past few years. IMHO, it's had a hand in some of the performances on the field.

 

People are overlooking the fact that he went 6-2 in the second half of the year last year. He/they finished strong after stumbling out of the gates. Tomlin was getting some praise (and deservedly so) at the end of the year for keeping the team together and finishing the way that they did.

 

3

 

There's something warped about praising a coach for not having his team prepared at the beginning of the season.

 

I think I stopped at the quote: "Mediocrity doesn't last long in Pittsburgh".

Fiction! Chad Scott lasted a fair while.

 

Isn't there's also something warped about being so insistent on a coach's failings that you turn anything into evidence for it - even his successes?

 

No way. He and the team would have to REALLY fall to pieces. Cowher had worse stretches than this.

 

Exactly. Superbowls are won in March.

 

I'm more interested in Hensley's comments.

Cin. may be favored, but they usually find a way to self-destruct after a successful year.

Bal. may have won the Super Bowl 14 months ago, but that was before they gave Flacco a monster contract. They dumped key players last year, expect more of the same as Flacco's salary inflates.

 

But you CANNOT give Tomlin a pass for the way the team SUCKED WIND throughout the preseason (which DOES matter BTW) and the first HALF of the regular season. The team looked unprepared, uninspired, flat and lethargic and THAT is largely on the coaching staff and it starts with the HEAD COACH. I'm happy the team pulled it together somewhat the second half of the season but even at that we lost to a tropical team in a Steeler snowstorm which cost us the playoffs! And Super Bowls may not be won in March BUT we dang sure screwed our chances at getting into the Super Bowl tournament in September and October last year!

 

YOU DAMN RIGHT

tomlins last year of missin playoffs

 

cowher didn't start with and have a franchise qb his whole tenure either and the days are ticking away.

 

No. It doesn't. The first four games (like you mentioned) are the reason why we didn't make the playoffs. Injuries screwed those games up for us more than anything (we played pretty badly too). We basically started back ups and 3rd stringers most of the year this year. If we had Heath, Bell, and Pouncey back there we probably wouldn't have started 0-4... Injuries like that are tough to recover from.

I know you don't care for Tomlin, but we wouldn't have done better last year if we had a different HC. In all honesty, if it weren't for Tomlin and the belief the players have in him we would probably be talking about who we are picking at 6 in May. I'm not saying Tomlin is the best coach ever, but to say that he is problem #1 for this team is just flat out not true.