This is NOT another Tomlin bashing thread…

…so no lip from you, Glenn.

I had actually changed my tune on Tomlin from wanting him gone a few years ago to settling for him after watching some of the head coaching hires around the league the last few years. But there is no doubt that he has lost control over this team this year. There’s no discipline, game planning is terrible, they consistently start games appearing to be totally underprepared and his clock management is atrocious. A major part of his legacy will be that he found ways to lose to inferior teams. At least that’s getting harder to do now because there are fewer and fewer inferior teams.

But I still can’t understand for the life of me why the national media continues to give him a pass. This article is a prime example of that.

https://www.nfl.com/_amp/stumbling-...with-questions-involving-future-after-being-r
From the article:
This isn't a matter of coaching, because Pittsburgh has one of the best in the business in Mike Tomlin. It's a combination of factors, from Roethlisberger's eroding skills to a limited offensive line to a defense that is no longer strong enough to compensate for issues on the other side of the ball.

I don’t understand comments like this. This guy TOTALLY gives Tomlin a pass and that is absolute BULLCRAP!

 

No idea....I am clearly missing something that they see or something.

 

Popcorn sucks. I've seen enough and it's long overdue for the Steelers organization to move on.

 

I think we all know why they give him a pass..

 

why is that??

 

Why?

 

Don’t worry he doesn’t have the stones.

 

Ok I'm gonna ask....why?

 

I think the next quote sums it up pretty succinctly.
"It's just execution," said Steelers running back Najee Harris when asked about his team's slow starts. "It would be kind of dumb to blame it on everything else other than us. It's about time we point at ourselves instead of other X-factors. It's something we have to get together as a team. It doesn't have to do with anybody else, but we have to find a way to execute."

 

We’ll you at least tried to dress it up.

 

It’s both. The coaching has not been good at all. And the players continue to make stupid mistakes.

 

Clearly the Steelers have player needs. Some need to be healthy (Ju Ju, Tuitt, Watt, Dodson, Alualu, Muth, etc). Some need to be replaced (OL, WR, QB, ILB, CB, S, DT, NT). Some need an off-season to recommit and improve (Claypool, Harvin, Bush).

The author doesn’t think it’s Tomlin. He states as much.

To me, he missed on the other coaches. O is worse, D is worse. Nowhere is better. Time to make a bunch of changes. If that means clean house except for Tomlin, so be it. This might be the best time to do it. See what improvements can be made over next two years.

 

I think my blame is lying more with Colbert as I think about it. Ravens don't seem to have a problem replenishing their offensive and defensive lines, and they have had just as much success as we have had.


Look at KC Chiefs ... they re-did their offensive line in the matter of 1 season. Look how they were tossing us around.

 

is it because he’s one of the few Black head coaches in the League?

is that what you’re saying?

 

Because he's won a Super Bowl already.

 

Because he supposidly hasnt ever had a loseing record..

 

Never had a losinh record ..right

 

I think the coaches are doing the best they can with what they have. We’ve got two rookies starting. Both of which have shown some good things and some terrible things. We’ve got a right guard that’s a shell of his former self. He’s slow as molasses and can’t pull with any efficacy. We’re on our 5th or 6th left guard. Only one of which has shown any promise, but he’s been nagged by injuries all year. Our #1 te is a rookie and out for the near future. One of his backups is meh and the other is practice squad fodder. On top of that our qb is a shell of his former self and should be embarrassed by his play.

 

There ya go again making idiot ass assumptions.. lol

 

Hey little off topic here but do you know if there are many black punters in the NFL? Matters not to me but since we got one I think he is one of few. He did win the Ray Guy award which is pretty damn good.

 

Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck but not a duck. Ok gotcha. No need to shy away from what it is. This MB has damn near become a Tomlin bashing board. Why, because he sucks and needs to go. Steelers fans who are still hanging from tomlins nuts at this point have become a rare sight. Tomlins ineptitude is THE topic of discussion with every steelers fan I encounter. So, don't shy away from bashing Tomlin. The owners need to wise the F up and make a damn change before they totally sour the next generation of fans. Enough is enough.

 

I think the OP answered his own question. It's because there are so many hires that turn out so bad. We don't have that perspective. We just look at our team and say "The HC did this or that or doesn't do this or that or else we'd be in the Super Bowl every other year." There's also the comparison to Belichick. It's like the SEC in college ball. Saban has basically ruined the league by dominating it so thoroughly. Every other team thinks they should be able to do something similar. Belichick and Saban's success in their respective leagues has made it very hard on HC's these days. Every time a team loses, a significant percentage of fans will say something like "If Belichick were coaching this team..." They're not wrong per se, but there's a reason there's only one Belichick in the pros and one Saban in the college ranks. They're both singular talents in their areas.

OK, with that long pre-ramble, let's look at the last 4 years of hires.

2018: Matt Nagy, Pat Schurmur, Matt Patricia, Steve Wilks, Mike Vrabel, Jon Gruden, Frank Reich - Let's call that two wins, 1 borderline (Gruden. Honestly he was no great shakes with the Raiders, but whatever.), and 4 total flameouts

2019: Freddie Kitchens, Bruce Arians, Matt Lafleur, Brian Flores, Vic Fangio, Adam Gase, Zac Taylor, Kliff Kingsbury - Pretty good year actually. 4 total wins, 2 jury still out, but looking ok, and two total and quite spectacular crash and burns (Kitchens and Gase)

2020: Joe Judge, Mike McCarthy, Matt Rhule, Ron Rivera, Kevin Stefanski - Still early, but I'll call it for now 2 wins (McCarthy and Stefanski), one teetering (Rivera), and two not looking good (Judge and Rhule).
2021: Brandan Staley, Urban Meyer, Nick Sirianni, Dan Campbell, Arthur Smith, Robert Saleh, David Culley - Way too early, but Meyer may have been the worst hire of all time.

So about 50% of the coaches just plain out stink.

As much as we think Tomlin sucks, in the big picture, he really doesn't. He may be very average and he may be an underachiever, but he's still way better than Kitchens, Meyer, Gase, Schurmer, Nagy, et al. He may be better than another third of the guys named there, although that's hard to judge. For example, there's absolutely zero reason, except for hating Tomlin, to really think Kliff Kingsbury is better, although he may be.

 

Tomlin definitely is a problem but let us not let AR 2 off the hook either. Being incapable of finding a succession plan for life after Big Ben also falls on his shoulders more than Tomlin and Colbert. Given the fact that there were reports he wanted him back, if true, he needs to have just as much blame as well.



Overall though, regardless of who's fault it is in all of this, one aspect is certain; a rebuild is coming. How long that will take will depend on the success of the next couple of drafts. The 2018-2021 classes were supposed to be key contributors heading into the 2020s. However, that has not been the case thus far. Among the players from those classes, here are the ones that actually are worth keeping moving forward;


Terrell Edmunds (I understand the vitriol he attracts but given the fact that Kyle Hamilton is Edmunds' only viable replacement, expect the Steelers to sign him long term; liked or otherwise)


Diontae Johnson (He is the team's number one receiver. That said, he is hamstrung by not just his QB but his OC).


*** Chase Claypool (On the fence about him. A bounce back season in 2022 is all but necessary at this point. Otherwise, he is gone.) ***


Alex Highsmith (He needs to be more consistent but has shown he can contribute. How much of an impact though remains to be seen.)


Najee Harris (No explanation on him)


Pat Freiermuth (See Najee Harris explanation)


*** Isaiah Loudermilk (Too early to tell but he has gotten better as the year has progressed) ***






In total? Only seven players from four total draft classes is simply not going to cut it. Yes, it is difficult to get home runs in every draft but even having three picks stay with the team per draft as solid contributors would constitute as a successful one; ideally four but three usually can suffice. The point is that the team has not done a good job overall in preparing for life after Big Ben not just in terms of his replacement but also in terms of maintaining the competitive rosters that the team normally does.



If there is one sliver lining to all of this, the Steelers FO has not been acting itself in terms of talent acquisition dating back to 2019; trading up for Devin Bush being one of them. Sure, his 2021 season is one to forget but the fact that the team traded up to acquire him definitely was unexpected... even if the team indirectly hinted at it. Another unusual move was trading a First Round pick for a player that same year; something that has not happened since 1967. Another one is trading for a player at the trade deadline in 2020; a feat that is very seldom to say the least.


I do hope this unusual form of aggression the FO has displayed shall continue in 2022 as the team is going to need to make quite a few moves to get back on the right track.

 

The issues are three prong at the top of the organization. Rooney II is too passive and too mild mannered. Maybe he realizes he is not his dad and doesn't want to screw up. Hiring a new GM or HC will be his first. Colbert isn't doing the team any favors by going year to year. Tomlin is a decent "CEO" type coach, but he shouldn't be the DC and he needs an OC that can game plan and make adjustments. The Steelers were handcuffed by the cap this year and key injuries, depth is an issue, but the roster they have has not been coached up. The fact that they have a 7-7-1 record is more about having some talent, than the job Tomlin has done. I have no problem giving Tomlin one more year, but Colbert needs to have an A+ draft and be very active in getting the right players in free agency. Then the organization needs to hire coaches that can teach, game plan, and make adjustments.

 

@86WardsWay
Looks like Jack is trying to steal your thunder.