Chapter 1: Why do the Steelers need to reconsider Mike Tomlin's coaching?
And it's second and three.
Big toss. Wide open. Spinning catch.
Kirk touchdown. Strong play and a good catch by Kirk. Ball a little behind him and the Texans have their first lead of the night. Stroud in trouble. Finds a place to go and he's picked. Echols has got it. Another turnover by this Texans offense. Extra offensive lineman in there, Fisher. Here's a little pitch back to Stroud, looking to air it out. Ball's out. Recovered by Pittsburgh and Y.A.
Black. Steeler ball knocked out by Jack Sawyer. First down and goal ball back outside the 10, as Mark says, his first 100-yard game and takes it into the end zone for a touchdown. They're down at 12. Rodgers, time runs out. Ball is out. It's picked up by the Texans and Sheldon Rankins. And he is in for a touchdown. Continue to coach.
If he's let go, there will be a lot of suitors knocking on his door for that as well. Here's an interception for good measure. It's picked off by Bullock. And Rodgers is in his way trying to make the tackle. Can't. And it's a touchdown, Texans.
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Chapter 2: What insights did Tom Pelissero provide about Tomlin's future?
I'm not even in that mindset as I sit here tonight. I'm more in the mindset of what transpired in the stadium and, you know, certainly what we did and didn't do. Not a big picture mentality to sit here tonight.
I mean, this league has changed a lot in my 21 years. You know, when you hear a conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleur's of the world, those are just two that kind of I've played for. And when I first got in the league, there wouldn't be conversation about whether those guys were on the hot seat.
You know, but the way that the league is covered now and the way that there's snap decisions and the ā validity given to the you know the twitter experts and all the you know experts on tv now who who who make it seem like they know what the hell they're talking about to me that's an absolute joke and for either of those two guys to be in a hot seat is uh
is really apropos of where we're at as a society and a league because obviously Matt's done a lot of great things in Green Bay and we had a lot of success. Mike T's had more success than damn near anybody in the league, you know, for the last 19, 20 years.
Yeah, sorry, but Aaron Rodgers is full of crap on that one. He really is. And shout out to Rodgers for serving this city and his team well this season. It ended horribly. But the story today is Mike Tomlin, and what Rodgers said there is just not accurate. This isn't about the Twitterverse or short spans of attention or people getting swayed by outside forces.
This is about a head coach who can't get it done anymore. Period. And if Rodgers wants to go back to when he came into the league in 2005, I've got plenty of examples of guys who at that time were having sustained success or were about to and would be fired. Of course, I could go all the way back to Tom Landry. I'm sure Rodgers, as a student of the history of the game...
knows that Tom Landry got pushed out of Dallas and Tony Dungy out of Tampa Bay, etc. But when he came into the league, when Rodgers came into the league in 2005, among those coaches employed who were having success or were about to have major success and still get fired were Andy Reid and Philadelphia. Multiple conference championship games and a Super Bowl appearance.
He won basically every year. Fired. Brian Billick was in Baltimore at the time. Had one of the legendary teams of all time. Won a Super Bowl. Fired.
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Chapter 3: How has Mike Tomlin's coaching record changed over the years?
John Fox in Carolina, which was barely in the league at that point. Super Bowl appearance. Multiple division titles. Fired. Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati takes over a Morabund franchise, and Morabund is a good word, limits, and takes them to success they hadn't seen since Boomer Esiason. Several playoff appearances. Fired. Marty Schottenheimer.
In San Diego, 47-33 there and coming off a 14-2 season in which they had the best record in football but couldn't win in the playoffs, lost to New England, fired. Tom Coughlin? Yeah, he was with the Giants at that point.
When Rodgers came into the league, and as history tells us and as anybody knows, he went on to beat the Patriots, including the unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl, and he beat them twice. took away two Super Bowls from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Well, what happened to him at the end? It was a, quote, mutual parting of the ways, but Coughlin said he still wanted to coach. He was pushed out.
Maybe Rodgers forgot that his coach in Green Bay, who had all kinds of success, had basically an identical resume to Mike Tomlin, beat Mike Tomlin in a Super Bowl, fired. John Harbaugh, who has an even more identical resume, if we want to update the story, fired, but only after, what, 18 seasons? So the whole society's gone to pot. We don't have any patience anymore.
Why do we talk about firing coaches like Matt LaFleur and Mike Tomlin is a bogus narrative that makes no sense and has no basis in fact. Period. It's time for the Steelers to part ways with Mike Tomlin. If you want to do it the Coughlin way, do it. A mutual parting of the ways in which he was told behind closed doors. It's time. Bob is not here, but his mannequin is over there.
Limits, how are you today?
Angry, disturbed, and frustrated by what I watched in person. You were in person.
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Chapter 4: What historical examples highlight coaching changes in the NFL?
Were there fire Tomlin chants near the end? Not that I heard. Brian Backo reported that there were some, a smattering, a splattering, something like that.
He said the same.
The real splattering was what the Texans did to Mike Tomlin's team.
And what the Texans' defense did to Aaron Rodgers.
Yeah, on the field last night. And this is only getting worse. This isn't getting any better. It's only getting worse. It was the worst home playoff loss in the history of the franchise. It should have been the worst loss, period. It should have been about 45-6 if C.J. Stroud didn't go full Bill Buckner for the first half. You had the other team blasting Renegade in their locker room.
the worst yardage differential in a Steeler playoff game. And oh, speaking of Marvin Lewis and Marty Schottenheimer, Tomlin passed up Schottenheimer and tied Marvin Lewis for the longest playoff losing streak in the history of the NFL at seven games. So you tell me what's going to change. What is going to change? And more to the point, more to the point here,
Why is it that Tomlin is largely viewed as the guy who's going to make the call? Why is this different than Harbaugh? Bunches of national media were supportive of the Harbaugh firing, but this, can't do this. Tomlin makes the call. He makes the call on this one. Let's wait and see what Mike wants to do. Bill Belichick didn't make the call. And he won six Super Bowls.
Pete Carroll didn't make the call in Seattle. Andy Reid didn't make the call in Philly.
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Chapter 5: How do recent playoff performances reflect on Tomlin's leadership?
Or Harbaugh in Baltimore. Or Fox in Carolina or Billick in Baltimore. Or Schottenheimer in San Diego or Coughlin with the Giants. McCarthy in Green Bay. Dungy in Tampa. But what are we doing here? And yet I turn on the television this morning limits to NFL Network and I hear Tom Pellicero's reporting, which, by the way, I believe is accurate. I don't think Art knows what to do at this point.
I don't think he knows what to do. And I don't know that he has the spine to do what needs to be done for everybody's sake. Mike Tomlin has been, as I've said many times here, a great representative of the city of Pittsburgh and a really good football coach. And it's time to move on. Everybody moves on at some point. Tom Landry was fired in Dallas.
He's a guy that Tomlin himself used as an example the other day when Harbaugh got fired. Nobody can be Tom Landry anymore. You are Tom Landry. You once had great success. You've stayed too long and you can't win the biggest games anymore. A missed field goal got you to this point and now it's time and it's just going to get uglier from here. Why would Tomlin want to put himself through this?
What's the draft going to be like? A fire Tomlin festival? And then he opens next season with everybody waiting. And every time things go sour, that's what it's going to turn into again. It's just time. In fact, it's past time. And yet I hear Pellicero say this on NFL Network this morning.
That is going to be a conversation, of course, that involves the owner, Art Rooney, who has never shown any interest in moving on from Mike Tomlin. But certainly for Mike Tomlin, who is now 19 years into his career in Pittsburgh, there will come at some time a point at which perhaps it's best for everyone involved to move on.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of the Steelers' playoff losses?
That is a conversation, from my understanding, that would have to be initiated by Mike Tomlin if he were to decide to step away from coaching altogether or if potentially he would want to go ā Rooney coming to Mike Tomlin and saying, we want to trade you. We want to hire a new head coach.
Rooney has told me in the past that as long as you see a coach that has the locker room, the guys believe in, and you personally as the owner believe in him, you do not make a change. The Steelers have had only three head coaches over the last half a century or so. This is not a team that makes decisions on the fly or based upon one game.
But certainly there are some conversations that are going to take place starting today. And it'll be fascinating to see exactly how the big picture unfolds in Pittsburgh.
Really, Tom, based on one game, that's what we're talking about here. There are kids... On their way to college very soon, who have no conscious memory of a Steeler playoff win, and more to the point, as I always say, this seven-game losing streak in the playoffs, which is tied with Marvin Lewis for the longest of all time, the average margin of defeat is more than two touchdowns.
Does it really mean that much to get in when all you do is get blown out? Now, he might be right there that the conversation would have to be initiated by Mike Tomlin. I don't understand. I don't get it. Why is he Teflon in this situation? But all the greats that I've mentioned weren't. Tom Landry didn't get to make his call. I think I've already been through this litany.
Bill Belichick didn't get to make his call. He won six Super Bowls and went to eight. What are we doing here? Mike McCarthy didn't make his call. Pete Carroll in Seattle and all the other names I just mentioned. They didn't get to make their calls. And this wouldn't be unprecedented either. It was set on this station. I don't know. Maybe it was right after the Baltimore game.
I read the notes from that day from Pony and Muller.
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Chapter 7: How does the fan base perceive Mike Tomlin's coaching decisions?
Mike Tomlin is off the hot seat. The league has never seen a coach win 10 games, win the division, and then be let go after a playoff run comes to an end. Yes, they have. I'd like to introduce you to Marty Schottenheimer, who went 14-2 in 2007, the best record in all of football, lost a competitive game to the Patriots, and was fired. It has happened, and it's certainly not about one game.
412-928-9370, 928-9370. And again, this is all said without rancor toward Tomlin. He's a good coach. In fact, it's said at this point with compassion. It's just time. Why would he want to put himself through this? It's going to get worse. It's going to get uglier. So Art needs to step in and be the boss. I know he lets Tomlin be the boss. You've heard it.
You just heard one of the NFL's best reporters say, well, if this is going to happen, Mike Tomlin's going to have to initiate the conversation. What? What are we doing here? Initiate the conversation, Art. walk down the hallway and say, Mike, it's time. Honestly, it was probably time last year when it looked like your team quit in a playoff game in Baltimore.
And did anybody see the fourth quarter last night what the defense looked like? They looked like they were intentionally allowing a touchdown to get the ball back so they could make a comeback. It's just time. It's okay. Everybody survives. Maybe everybody thrives. Plenty of situations like that. It's 19 years.
Chapter 8: What are the potential outcomes for the Steelers moving forward?
Lots and lots of great stuff. A Super Bowl title early on. And now it's been seven straight playoff defeats. A couple years in there, you miss the playoffs. And then you look at the record. Let's just take a five-year span. If you include all the horrible playoff losses. And again, last night was the worst home playoff loss in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise.
10 and 8, 10 and 8, 10 and 8, 9 and 8, 9, 7 and 1. This is Jeff Fisher. This is Marvin Lewis. What are we doing? Can somebody slap me in the face and wake me up here? Why is he going to make the call? And it should be really, really obvious like this shouldn't take, you know, days or weeks or months or something like that. It's time. And ideally, I would look to trade him.
And that's happened several times in NFL history with some pretty big names, including Bill Belichick, including John Gruden. That would be my first option. If it's true, if it's true. that an NFL team would hire him in five minutes, then let's put that theory to the test. Let's go out and get a first-round pick, if you're the Steelers, for Mike Tomlin.
I'm not convinced that would happen, by the way. I think people these days are way more interested in offensive minds as their coaches, guys who have a history of offense. Ben Johnson, Liam Cohen, people like that. Maybe I'm wrong. D'Amico Ryans puts that to the test because he's got one hell of a defense. He's got the defense that Tomlin wanted and bragged that he would have this season.
I think a lot of people would like that too, and I think they would take him ahead of Tomlin in a second. So that theory that I've heard again a thousand more times since last night, he could go anywhere he wants. Five minutes, he would have a job. It's probably true.
But so would Sean Payton, Mike Vrabel, Liam Cohen, D'Amico Ryans, Jim Harbaugh, Mike McDonald, Ben Johnson, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan. Do you want me to keep going? What does that even mean? Who cares? There's more than 10 coaches in the league who would have a job in five minutes and probably a bunch of coordinators and probably some college coaches. But that would be great.
I feel like I'm repeating myself from a year ago today or whatever day the playoff loss was. In that, what a great start it would be for Mike Tomlin. Everybody has had it here. It's just going to get uglier. It is. It's just time. He could get a fresh start somewhere. Come in as the conquering hero. get all the money in the world, do whatever he wanted, go wherever he wanted.
And he would and should be remembered fondly here. But it's been a long, long time since he was a great coach. And when it comes to the playoffs, he's one of the worst coaches in the league. Now you get there, I get it, but he's 8-12. So we talk about the non-losing streak here. But ironically, he has a losing record in the playoffs.
It's 8-12 with a seven-game playoff losing streak where his team gets blown out on average by two touchdowns. So again, if our first conscious memory is around five years old and then you tack on nine years, you have kids turning 15 headed shortly within three years toward college who have no conscious memory of the Steelers even coming close to a playoff win. Think about that for a second.
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