Steelers' Mike Tomlin’s Player Relationships Exposed in Shocking Condemning Statement

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known as one of the best franchises in all of sports, but things haven't been all that great in recent years. The team is still riding its streak of not having a losing season, but the lack of recent playoff success has the fan base frustrated. A postseason contest has not been won by Pittsburgh since the 2016 season, meaning the draught has lasted nearly a decade. To make matters worse, Pittsburgh has gotten to the playoffs in most seasons over that stretch, but the team has consistently been convincingly outmatched and outmanned in the first round.

A large portion of the fan base wants to see some serious coaching changes in Pittsburgh, while some are perfectly happy and still believe in current Head Coach Mike Tomlin. He is well-respected throughout the league, and he is often praised for the way he is able to get the most out of his players. However, there seems to be some sort of disconnect with how the coach is viewed on a national scale versus how he is viewed locally. NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala recently joined 93.7 The Fan, where she made an interesting comment about the head coach.

"I'll just say this without violating anybody's trust," Kinkhabwala said. "There are many, many, many former players that I have spoken to that have bitten their tongues about their experience with Mike."

This quote from Kinkhabwala showcases that not everyone who has had a run-in with Tomlin walks away thinking he is one of the best in the game, which is typically what the national media will tell its audience. Tomlin was never going to have a perfect resume, that is nearly impossible after coaching in the NFL for 18 seasons. However, it sounds like a decent amount of players have walked away from their experience in Pittsburgh pretty displeased.

The main players people will probably think of after reading that quote from Kinkhabwala are the disgruntled wide receivers that Pittsburgh typically ends up trading away. There could also be some players who were mistreated towards the end of their career, or players that thought they did not get a fair chance while with the team. Those types of things happen everywhere. Kinkhabwala spoke about the disconnect regarding Tomlin.

"There's a huge disconnect, right?" Kinkhabwala asked. "Because the national media is in love with Mike Tomlin and the national media never brings up the playoff drought. And the national media never brings up all these wide receivers who can't seem to behave one after another and another."

Kinkhabwala seems to be passing blame onto Tomlin for poorly behaved wide receivers and nearly a decade of not advancing in the postseason, which is perfectly fair considering he is the head coach. Tomlin is praised so often, that it is important to remember that he does have some flaws. However, the majority of players typically praise the head coach for his ability to be personable with everyone.

Steelers' Mike Tomlin Isn't Entirely To Blame For Disgruntled Wide Receivers

A trend in Pittsburgh has been the wide receiver position, and the Steelers consistently rostering players that create distractions or have some sort of behavioral issues. The latest example was George Pickens, who did not really show one sign of maturity over his three years with the team. This has become a pattern, and it isn't entirely Tomlin's fault as multiple brains in the war room decide who to draft. However, Tomlin has a large say in the selections the team makes, and once players are in Pittsburgh, it is on him to make sure they doing what is needed in order for the team to have success. He failed at that with Pickens, and some might say he did with Diontae Johnson as well.

What do you think of this quote from Kinkhabwala? Let us know in the comments below!

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