Heading into Sunday’s game against the Ravens, fans and the media turned the heat up on head coach Mike Tomlin, and rightfully so as the Steelers are falling way short of expectations.
But to say he’s not a great coach is absolutely stupid.
Yes, the Steelers have not won a playoff game under Tomlin since their 2017 wildcard win against the Miami Dolphins.
Yes, the defense can’t stop the run and is giving up too many big plays.
And yes, they still haven’t solved their quarterback problem.
But to say that now, after helming 19 years of non-losing football for the Black and Yellow, Tomlin is simply a good coach, or foolishly label him as overrated, is wildly ignorant.
On Sunday, the Steelers’ crucial 27-22 victory over the Ravens in Baltimore, coupled with the Bengals loss to Buffalo, loosened the collar slowly constricting Pittsburgh’s neck.
Yet the win did nothing for many fans which, instead of celebrating the team’s huge win over their hated rivals, continued their assault on Tomlin.
It’s well known that Tomlin (190-113-2) has never had a losing season. That’s something not even Don Shula (1), George Halas (6), Tom Landry (8), Paul Brown (4), Marty Shottenheimer (2), Dan Reeves (9), Chuck Knox (8), Bill Parcells (5), Tom Coughlin (8), Mike Shanahan (7), Bill Belichick (8), Tony Dungy (1), Chuck Noll (7) or Bill Cowher (3) can claim.
Even active coaches like Andy Reid (3), Pete Carroll (4), Sean Payton (5) and John Harbaugh (2) have all had losing seasons.
But for the Tomlin haters, the continued losses in the postseason are all they can see.
Surprisingly, some of the hate came from former Steelers great, James Harrison, who said on his Deebo and Joe podcast that Tomlin was simply a good coach.
“I have never been a person that thought Coach Tomlin was a great coach,” said Harrison. “I thought he was a good [coach]…A good coach gets you to play to your potential. And right now, the players we have on that team I have seen play, they’re not playing up to their potential. A great coach gets you to play to your potential.”
This is ironic considering that Harrison played for Pittsburgh for three full seasons before Tomlin was hired in 2007, after which Harrison became a 5x Pro Bowler, 2x All Pro and Defensive Player of the Year. Although he attributes his success to defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, LeBeau coached Harrison for three seasons before Tomlin was hired and only then did Harrison’s career flourish.
