Does firing NFL coaches make a difference?

And then who came after him, Sims and Pierre?

DJ or Chase should be the guy out there in an emergency. But we can't rely on them. That is where a vet with sure hands would have come in handy.

 

Has claypool ever returned kicks? I get dj doing it to an extent, but not horrified that they chose Simms over him either

 

Only to German Shepherds.

 

What percentage of the receiving corps do you put this at? There’s been DJ, and…? I don’t recall drops being a problem for the bulk of our receivers, tight ends or running backs.

 

NEIN
LOL

 

Sure, its speculation, but its just as much speculation to say that our team culture is still strong and Tomlin's message isn't stale.

How many WR's got to coast after the throw the way Claypool does on an every play basis without getting called out. Heck it took Trai freaking Turner to call out his selfish garbage last year (and was really the only one super vocal about it outside of Ben IIRC). How many times on the 2000-2010's teams did people get called out for laughing and smiling after getting embarrassed? Those teams didn't let it happen as often, but when we got "out-physicaled" people talked about it and it didn't happen again. Heyward's response to Maulet? "I don't think people were laughing" (I'm a huge fan of Heyward's even at OSU, but that's weak). This stuff has happened more and more in recent years, you can see it.

How can you look at this team and not see a shell of it's former self? Not just because we aren't winning, but in the WAY we aren't winning. Rolling over, accepting failure. This team is MENTALLY SOFT. The culture is a direct reflection of the coaching staff, so I do blame them (all of them) for how our team responds to adversity.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the first 5 weeks actually show a mentally strong, well-coached team that is headed in the right direction... If that's the case, they better figure it out quick, bc they aren't showing it.

 

You’re comparing a veteran laden team to a very young team. I believe Our most veteran starter on offense is Dj at 4 years. Daniel’s and Cole have played in the nfl longer, but they’ve been with the team for a couple months. Technically you are correct that I’m speculating about Tomlin’s message, but I’m not ignoring the variables in play like yourself.

 

The message is doubly more important for a young team is it not? Sure, there are variables, but that doesn't mean an issue isn't an issue just because the team is young.

I'm just making an observation and stating my opinion. The product on the field (from the outside) looks like its the product of poor coaching. The culture looks (from the outside) to be soft and poor. And the same "they made plays and we didn't", "we take ownership" message isn't yielding the same results as it has in years past. In the original post, I was just saying that firing Tomlin wouldn't have the same affect on the franchise as firing a coach in the middle of his second year from a roadmap perspective. He appears to be doing a horrible job (and I think has been for a while, he was just bailed out by having ultra talented teams and a HOF QB). I wouldn't overreact and fire him mid season or anything, but I wouldn't shy away from a "does this guy need to be our coach still?" conversation after the season is over. He has the rest of the year to prove he is up to snuff on building a team like he has never had to do in his career before.

 

Sims never got to do it.

 

Strummer, honest question here. At what point do you feel that the HEAD COACH should be blamed for his team’s performance? I know players have to make plays and perform, but is it possible that the reason they’re not making plays and making fundamental errors is due to a lack of adequate coaching. How many times have we come out in big situations and seemed to be totally unprepared for the moment? How many times has Tomlin seemed to be overmatched when going up against some of the better coaches in the league or in some cases coaches who are perceived to be less qualified than Tomlin. The HEAD COACH is ultimately responsible for putting his players in a position to win and having them adequately prepared, both mentally and physically, to perform on the field. Does he make tackles, throw blocks, pass, catch and run, fiield punts? Of course not! But it seems like players we draft or sign as free agents, with few exceptions, regress when they get here rather than progress. Why is that? It seems that you don’t want to hold Tomlin accountable for anything and I don’t get it.

 

You asked me this same question last week. So I’m just going to ask you a bunch of questions. Are we anywhere near the highest penalized teams in the league? You know one of the hallmarks of a poorly coached football team? When are you going to stop overestimating the Steelers and underestimating their opponents? Will firing the head coach fix drops by the wide receivers? Will firing the head coach miraculously heal our players? Will firing coaches fix gunner’s miscues fielding kicks? You know the all pro kick returner the former general manager signed? Why is it when our free agents leave they seem to regress? Why when former players talk about our coaches do you and your ilk ignore what they have to say? Why do fans complain about adjustments when 99.9999999% of them couldn’t pick out an adjustment if they were spotted the a,d,j,u,s,t,m,e,n? Did you really expect it to be a smooth transition to a new quarterback?do you really not grasp how young this team is? Did you really think Pickett would come in and make everything better?

 

No, I didn’t ask you this question last week. Show me where I asked at what point would you consider a change. When should the HEAD COACH be blamed for team performance? Why won’t you answer the question? You’ve become a shameless Tomlin apologist who believes he can do no wrong. It’s okay to be critical of his performance (and there’s plenty there to criticize) and not be calling for his immediate firing. He’s the HEAD COACH for crying out loud!

And what’s with this “you and your ilk” crap?!

 

You got me! My apologies, sir. We’ve had so much back and forth about this I had forgotten about asking you the question previously.

But…you still refuse to answer the question.

 

You haven’t answered any of mine. What does it fix?

 

It helps promote a culture of accountability which is what the Steelers organization has always preached. Non-performance in the NFL is unacceptable! Someone has to be held accountable for non-performance. If Tomlin is the HEAD COACH, he is the most accountable. I’m not saying fire the HC over anything and everything. At times there are anomalies that occur beyond the HC’s control. But there are many issues that have devolved into patterns of Tomlin coached teams over the years and that is problematic. I’ve mentioned several and won’t rehash them here. That’s an indication that his message may no longer be resonating with the players. Tomlin’s been a good coach overall but there comes a time for change. I think that time may be growing near.

 

Tell me the last time we led the league in penalties. It’s a trademark of a poorly coached team. So when was it?

 

Mental errors, not making adequate adjustments in game, poor clock management, not having your players in a position to succeed (I.e. always giving up the MOF on defense, not getting any pressure on the QB without TJ, not being gap disciplined to stop the run, etc.), coming out seemingly unprepared to play as is indicated by the fact that we’ve fallen behind by three or more TDs in the first half twice as much over the last 5 years than we had the previous 20. Those are all hallmarks of a poorly coached team as well.

 

come on mr politician answer the question. It will be absolutely painless for you. I promise. Or you could just blame Obama

 

I’d guess we’re middle of the pack but I’m not going to google it. Who cares. The fact is we’re crapping the bed and have been for the better part of the last decade. But hey, we’re average when it comes to penalties so we’re good. That’s a laughable argument!

And speaking of Mr. Politician. Why don’t you answer my question? At what pint should Tomlin be held accountable?

 

You couldn’t spot an adjustment if your life depended on it!

 

At what point should Tomlin be held accountable? Come on Strummer. Answer the question. It’ll be painless, I promise. And I’ve forgotten more about football than you’ll ever know, amateur.

 

When our problems are caused by him.

 

This coming from the guy that forgot this same discussion from last week

 

Wow…go ahead and sue me. I forgot something from last week…oh the horror. You said above that when Tomlin is our problem he should be held accountable. Let me phrase my question another way. At what point might he be the problem? And…would you acknowledge that he is at least a significant part of the team’s current problems?