Steelers' Fan Base Finally Validated By National Media After Mike Tomlin Loses Yet Another Big Playoff Game

Another year, and another Pittsburgh Steelers season that was ended in the first round of the playoffs. Fans in the Steel City have been fortunate enough to support a winning team throughout the tenure of Head Coach Mike Tomlin, but something has to give when one thinks about how the franchise hasn't won a game in the postseason since the 2016 campaign. Reports have already indicated that Tomlin won't be on his way out after a disappointing five-game losing streak to end the season, but, at the very least, the black and gold faithful are looking for some validation of feelings that have been building up for years.

Everyone who supports the Steelers has become exhausted with the national media's constant defense of Tomlin, and rightfully so. It is true that he has never had a losing season as a head coach, but it's hard to argue that any other franchise, and any other coach, wouldn't have been fired by now after horrible playoff performances for nearly the last decade.

As pre-game shows began for the Wild Card games on Sunday, a fierce Tomlin defender in Kyle Brandt had the stage on NFL Network. He brought a tone and an attitude that has not often been heard or seen from him when it comes to Pittsburgh's head coach. Brandt also admitted that the lack of a quarterback is not the problem for the Steelers.

"What I'm going to talk about is not fun, but I think we owe it to the fans," Brandt began when speaking about the Steelers. "You say 'well, they can't figure out the quarterback,' and I understand. I look around the league and I see teams with rookies, and retreads, and seventh-round picks winning playoff games."

This is a tremendous point and an interesting conversation to have when it comes to Tomlin. His teams simply can't compete from an offensive standpoint and, without turnovers from the defensive unit, have virtually no chance of beating good teams.

Brandt continued and hit the nail on the head. The argument of the Steelers moving on from Tomlin and losing him to another team are no longer valid. The standard is no longer the standard and the message has run dry,.

"There is this take, which I agree with, I think we all do, that if the Steelers were ever to part ways with Mike Tomlin, there'd be 25 teams lining up to hire him, and I agree," Brandt said. "I also think there's 25 teams in the league that would be thrilled to make the playoffs every year. It's great. We got to the playoffs. It's awesome. We can do business, we're done. But, I think there is a very exclusive fraternity of teams that would hate to just make the playoffs every year because they stand for something different. The Steelers are not only in that fraternity, they're the president of it."

A brutal playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens highlighted what the Steel City has known for several years. There's a good chance an average NFL follower could ask a fan in Pittsburgh if a losing season meant Tomlin gone, and a franchise quarterback coming in, and the majority would actually be okay with it. The Steelers have officially entered the Marvin Lewis conversation dating back to when the Cincinnati Bengals refused to turn the page.

Steelers' Ownership No Longer Has Any Excuses To Make

Art Rooney II was clear after the 2023 season came to a close. He admitted that the lack of playoff success in recent years has been unacceptable. He could have been saying this to keep butts in the stands, but overall, another one-and-done postseason has to lead to some criticism. No matter what the coaching staff has looked like, the Steelers have the same recipe year in and year out. Brandt's words were near-perfect, and Rooney needs to seriously look into the mirror.

What do you think the Steelers have to do to put together a championship roster? Let us know in the comments below!

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