Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has engineered the single greatest start to a career in the history of the NFL. That's over 100 years of football. It's well documented that Tomlin has never had a losing season, posting just three 8-8 campaigns in his first 15 years as head coach. Nobody can deny his success, but the mounting evidence of Tomlin's shortcomings has also been piling up since 2010, the team's last Super Bowl appearance.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin on the sideline of Sunday's 38-3 loss at Buffalo. Photo Credit - Jared Wickerham/Pittsburgh Steelers
As playoff wins and trips to the big game have dried up over the past decade, a small, but growing howl for change by the Rooney's has begun. It's foolish to think a franchise that prides itself on coaching stability would make a move to remove Tomlin (they won't) and bring in a new boss.
However statistics don't lie. The smell test. What you can see on the field and hear in the locker room from players. Right now, it's as bad as it's ever been under Tomlin and that's saying an awful lot.
Challenging Tomlin's Risky In-Game Decision Making... It Must Improve
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin gives instructions to his team during a 38-3 loss at Buffalo. Photo - Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Let's start with challenges. To begin his career, Mike Tomlin was fairly good as knowing when to throw the red flag. Between 2007 and 2015 he made good on 30 of 57 challenges for a 52.6% success rate. Not bad in today's NFL. But starting in 2016, something changed and not for the good. Over the next three seasons he won just 2 of 14. Coming into 2022, Tomlin went just 6 of his last 29 in successful challenges, for an abysmal win rate of 23.32% in that span. For two of those seasons (2017 & 2018), he didn't win a single challenge. So far in 2022, he's 0 for 2, bringing his career success rate in challenges to 41.3%, winning 36 of 88 total challenges. The league's success rate is around 46% in contesting plays, so Tomlin does sit lower than the average, but only by a few points.
Some would also argue that Tomlin doesn't throw the red flag when he should. Case in point against Buffalo in the second half of a lopsided 38-3 blowout loss, Tomlin missed an opportunity that fans and those in the media brought to attention on a drive that ended in Bills territory on what looked like a catch by George Pickens. Why not throw a flag there? Maybe it's piling on in a game that was out of hand by the early second quarter, but it's a point none the less.
Steelers Show Track-Record Of Being Unmotivated When Pressure Is On Against Inferior Opponents
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin looks on during a 38-3 loss at Buffalo on October 9th. Photo - Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Another calling card of Tomlin's over the years has been how poorly his clubs have played on the road against sub .500 teams. A number of games jump to mind in recent years including losses to the New York Jets at Met Life Stadium in 2019, a crushing December loss at Oakland the year prior where the Steelers were double-digit favorites and a plethora of others. The two I mentioned contributed to the team missing the postseason. Conversely, when the shoe is on the other foot, his teams rise up and shock clubs, case in point the season opener in 2021 at Buffalo where the team was a touchdown underdog and rallied at half, down 10-0. The second half saw Pittsburgh bully the Bills around Orchard Park, taking a 23-16 win and would set up a playoff season run, the 10th under Tomlin.
Next Steps For Steelers Front Office With Mike Tomlin
Mike Tomlin prior to the Steelers/Bills game in Orchard Park, NY. Photo - Aaron Anastasia/Pittsburgh Steelers
I am not advocating that Tomlin be replaced. It's never going to happen, certainly not after his first losing season as a head coach of this team. There is little doubt that scenario won't play out by season's end. It would take a series of miracles to occur. What does need to happen is this: Ownership, starting with Art Rooney II and Omar Kahn need to really sit down with Tomlin and try to hammer home that he personally needs to make some changes in his game-day approach.
One avenue to achieve this perhaps is to bring on some additional staff to help with clock management, challenges, analytics and such as a way to improve. Tomlin also needs to regain control of his locker room. The players are clearly venting publicly like I've never seen before. Look at Antonio Brown as an example. Did anybody really know the side of him like we do know when he wore black & gold? Not until the very end, that much I know.
And I think Tomlin understands he needs to be better and fast and that changes are needed and now. My only concern as of the writing of this article, is that nothing has changed. Clearly a change is in order at offensive coordinator, but still Matt Canada has a job. You can argue all you want about making moves of this nature during the season, let alone with a rookie quarterback now starting, but if a head coach can lose his head (hello Matt Rhule), then a OC's job should be on the table. These are truly uncharted waters that he must navigate in order to bring this team back from becoming the Lions or Jets.
So Steelers fans, what will Mike Tomlin do? Will he cave to the pressure of not having a HOF QB any longer or will he make moves both during and in the off-season to get the team back to what it's done for so long... win. Sound off below!
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