Ryan Clark on ESPN First Take today

Did anyone see that?
I now see the team in a different light due to what Clark said about how Tomlin coaches.
He ultimately says Tomlin is to be blamed for not vetoing Haley's decision about play calling at the end of the game.

Tomlin doesn't call the O or D, he lets his coaches do that.

 

This is exactly what I said (more assumed) in another thread. ALL plays that are called Tomlin should be aware of.

 

I'm not starting this thread to slam Tomlin.
I had no clue of the chain of command.
Tomlin let's his coaches do their thing.

 

Then he's to blame just as much as the coaches when they tank!

 

Why have a staff if you don't believe in them. To me that's just dumb. Just because you the HC don't make you better than others. To me its like the military. Officers make the battle plan but trust the Enlisted to carry them out. Very rarely does the Officer over ruled his Command SGT Majors or 1st SGT or Sgt

 

I guarantee you he is one hundred percent aware of run,pass,man,zone,blitz...

 

It is Tomlin's job to make sure all players, coaches, trainers etc. are doing their job and doing it well. If not, it is his job to correct the issues or make a change. It's (obvious) that he has no clue how to do his job because we see the same damn issues over and over again. I am the GM of our company and guess what, when something isn't working or there are problems it is my job to fix them or make changes. No matter who or what is causing those issues it is my fault (no matter what) when things go wrong because I am in charge and they work for me. And when things do go wrong and I say I'll take blame or I'll own this, you can bet your a$$ it won't keep happening over and over because I will fix the problem. Not the case with Tomlin, he talks the talk but has yet to walk the walk! I have come to the conclusion that he will never change. Everyone has their own opinion and that is mine and I will stand by it until things change!

He needs to up his STANDARDS because his standards are not up to snuff! Ruck the Favens!!!!!

 

I have wondered about this for years. While Tomlin always takes "responsibility", that does not mean the decisions were made by him in the moment. I think the process is too complex and happens to quickly for there to be much debate or vetoing. I assume the OC and DC get info from their assistants up in the booth, and then they have to decide what plays to run within their game plan. They then have to get that play into the game and the right personnel to run that play. If the head coach intervenes and says, "no, I think you should run this play instead", then the whole system would get mucked up. Big strategic decisions might be called by the head coach - "Go for it on 4th and 2", but I bet the specific play is decided by the coaching staff, not the HC.

 

I have no problem with Tomlin letting his coordinators do their job. This is kind of old news though he has always done that.

 

Exactly part of my point. Regardless of who is making those decisions, it is clear that this person isn't capable because we see the same thing over and over for a few years now. Time for Tomlin to do his job and fix it! Part of taking responsibility is fixing it so it doesn't keep happening.

If you have a low hanging light in your house and you keep bumping your head on it what do you do? Replace it or hang it higher rather than having to duck every time you walk through. Either way you fix the problem not keep bumping your head! Makes sense to me and that's how most people roll, regardless of the job or situation. Me personally, I would bump my head twice at most before it gets fixed. If I hit my head a third time, that light would be ripped out of the ceiling and smashed into pieces and replaced with one that doesn't cause me pain.

So in my eyes, Tomlin is at fault because he has not fixed the problem.

 

So the question is, why hasn't he fixed it? What are the barriers? Is it player talent? Politics? Conflicts of philosophy? His inability to influence his coordinators? Incompetence?

 

Here's the link to ESPN's first take with Ryan Clark near the end:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/feature/index?page=firsttake

Stephen A. Smith really does not like Haley and blames him for the boneheaded decisions last night. Smith thinks Haley wants to show everyone how clever he is, and it backfires.

 

OC's and DC's almost ALWAYS call the plays. I have no doubt that Head Coaches often give their input, but look which coaches are staring at the play sheets the entire game, it ain't the HC. From High School, to College, to the Pros that's the way it is. I kind of assumed everyone knew that. I always thought it was pretty silly listening to people slam the Head Coach for lousy play calling for exactly that reason.

 

My main problem with Haley, and I am openly and admittedly, his absolute number one fan around here. But I just think that sometimes he goes away from what's working too soon. If you watch a pats game they will do the same thing over and over until the other team stops it. We, however, will march down the field on Ben's arm and then just kill it by letting AB throw a pass on a dumb trick play. That's just stupid.

 

I'd agree with this, on both sides; I like how Haley and Ben have developed, but noticed several times last year as well when they were marching down the field with the running game, then suddenly stoped and tried starting up a passing attack. Sometimes it was as simple as Bell running very well in the first quarter, then Blount was brought in for the entire second. Obviously the starter needs a play or series off to rest up, but it seemed to be game planned that Blount would be the back the entire second quarter, and sometimes half of the third, even if he was struggling comparative to Bell. Strange.

 

Tomlin's approach was noted back in his first season. Arians and LeBeau were given almost 100% control of their units.

 

I don't think Tomlin has to call the offense to be a great coach.

There are a lot of great coaches who don't.

 

I thought it was interesting that Clark also said that the Rooney's flat out wanted BA to run the ball and he didn't and that's why he's gone.

 

it was good insight.
try to watch it.

 

i said that b4 that he is hands off when it comes to coaching, im not sure what Tomlin does, but im sure he is not doing it very well.. oh well he making 4-5 million a year . thats good $ just to be a figure head.

 

I personally never stated Tomlin calls the plays. However I will guarantee he was aware of the stupid calls that cost us the game and could have said NO WAY. My point is that this has been happening for the last 3 years at least (losing to crappy teams) and it hasn't changed. That is 100% Tomlin's fault for letting it continue. It is 100% Tomlin's responsibility to make the necessary changes to ensure we get better not settle for the standard. It's obvious what his standard is and it doesn't work and never will. Change is needed and it is needed now. I'm sick and tired of watching this team hand games over when we clearly have the win within our grasp and then poop in the pool. It's very old at this point.

 

While I think Head Coach's are a little bit more than figureheads, a lot of that salary is because the wins and losses go on HIS record, not the Coordinators. I see the Head Coach as the overseer. He does a little bit of everything and should have his finger on the pulse of the players and coaches giving his input whenever he sees fit. I do think the Coordinators probably have more to do with wins and losses though....possibly even positional coaches have more impact since they spend the most time with the individual groups of players and they are the ones teaching technique every day. The Head Coach is the guy who has been successful up through those ranks and has earned the right to have the ultimate decisions and to have his name go in the wins and losses column. He has also earned the right to have a big part in choosing the Coordinators and Coaches that he wants on his staff doing doing that day to day stuff.

And my feelings on it have nothing to do with Tomlin, I felt the same way when Cowher was here. IMO, Head Coaches get too much credit when the team wins and too much blame when they lose. But at the same time as I said above, they have kind of "earned" that right to get the credit/blame by paying their dues and working up through the Coaching ranks.

 

Agreed..
This is probably the best summation I have read here, of exactly "What is a head coach`s job?"...

I`m growing tired of Tomlin`s cliches to the media, but, I am sure he has a different demeanor to the players, in the locker room...

And I wouldn`t have trusted Scobee to kick that last field goal, either..

I would have preferred a run with Bell, over a qb run, or a throw to Brown, on either of the 4th down plays, but I agree with going for it, in both cases..

Not sure Tomlin called the plays...

Glad he went for it..

Wish they would have executed better, or called better plays...

It didn`t work, either time. Period.

I`m not blaming Tomlin for trying them, though....

I`m still wondering why Heath only was thrown at ONCE... the whole game.

I know they were using him to block, and needed a good running game to win, but... ???

Maybe Vick didn`t trust him, Maybe he wasn`t going out on routes, due to Haley`s playcalls...

I`m not sure, but there were lots of places to lay blame, last night.

If your kicker isn`t making field goals, you would be rather stupid, to expect him to make a longer one, when it mattered most...

I never thought about punting it there, until today, but, maybe that would have been a better option...


Try to pin them deep...

I still think going for it was the best choice,

And if Vick makes a better throw, maybe we get in better range for a field goal, or Bell rips off a run to the endzone, or 20 yardline...
We`ll never know...

Coaches coach, and Players play...

Too much blame to pin on any one person...

Offense, and Defense played well at times, and poorly, at others..

We are 2-2, playin the Chargers in about 10 days...

Let`s get it together, and win that one!!!

GO STEELERS!