Steelers' Mike Tomlin And Teryl Austin Earn Credit For Turning Hate Into Wins

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense was expected to be one of the best units in the NFL for the 2025 season. Early on, however, that defense was getting torn apart, struggling to stop opponents and giving up big plays. While it hasn’t been perfected just yet, the Steelers’ secondary has clearly improved, showing more consistency and playmaking ability. As the team sits at 6-4 on the season, their defense appears to finally be settling in and living up to expectations.

Steelers Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin and Head Coach Mike Tomlin have taken a ton of heat over the last few seasons for the unit’s underwhelming performances. Critics were quick to question their schemes and leadership when the defense failed to meet expectations. However, on Sunday, the Steelers showed a much-improved defensive identity, slowing down the Cincinnati Bengals’ high-octane offense and holding them to just 12 points. That’s a stark contrast to Week 7, when the Bengals racked up 470 yards of total offense against Pittsburgh.

Steelers insider Brian Batko revealed on Monday, in his chat for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that he believes Austin and Tomlin deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround. Their adjustments, both schematically and in player development, appear to be paying off as the defense becomes a true strength for the team. While there’s still work to be done, the Steelers’ defensive resurgence shows that patience, experience, and smart coaching can turn early-season struggles into a dominant force.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it an overreaction three games in," Batko said. "That's a decent sample size to this point. Doesn't guarantee future success or anything, but to this point, how can you call it anything other than a fantastic decision by Mike Tomlin, Teryl Austin and Co. to shuffle the secondary the way they did?"

Just a couple of weeks ago, hearing the Steelers’ insiders praise Tomlin and Austin in the same sentence about the defense would have sounded crazy. However, that’s exactly what happened after the Steelers held the Bengals to just 12 points on Sunday.

Batko believes Tomlin and Austin have done an excellent job coaching Pittsburgh’s secondary during a time of adversity. When injuries struck, the Steelers’ brass found a way to get the next man up, with James Pierre stepping in and going all out.

"Sure, you can argue they fell backwards into it a little bit with Slay/Chuck Clark/Jabrill Peppers going down, Pierre stepping up out of nowhere, Kyle Dugger being forced into the lineup immediately, but it's impressive," Batko said.

Obviously, Darius Slay being forced to miss a game with a concussion and Jabrill Peppers dealing with injuries changed a lot for the Steelers’ defense.

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Kyle Dugger was traded for, and he made his impact felt immediately against the Bengals. It’s clear this defense has been working to improve, and they’ve done so with some unlikely faces stepping up.

Now there’s a debate about whether Slay should reclaim his starting job when he returns or if a player like Pierre should keep it. As the saying goes: if it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. Whatever the Steelers did against the Bengals worked. Now they will try and replicate that success going forward.

Do you think Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin have finally earned the respect of Steelers fans, or is there still plenty of reason to doubt? Let us know in the comments below! Please feel free to share your Steelers takes with me on X @anthonyghalkias and follow me. I will respond!

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