The Pittsburgh Steelers have had an interesting few seasons in recent years. The team has been competitive throughout the regular season, but things have fallen apart once the franchise reaches the playoffs. That has been the case in the last three seasons as Pittsburgh has clinched the postseason, but the group has lost in the first round in embarrassing fashion. That contributes to the frustration of the fan base as the organization has not won a playoff game in about a decade, and a lot of that blame has been placed on former head coach Mike Tomlin over the years.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin greets Houston Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans following their AFC Wild Card Round game at Acrisure Stadium.
Tomlin stepped down from his role as head coach in Pittsburgh after the 2025 season came to a close, and he moved on pretty quickly as he signed a broadcasting deal with NBC. He is now featured on the desk for Football Night In America, and he has been giving his thoughts on situations around the NFL since the 2026 season began. He made a special appearance on New Heights on Wednesday as he chatted with Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce, and the two asked him about a few things going on across the league.
The topic of conversation was play calling, and how head coaches might be taking over that responsibility. This has been in the news with Sean Payton taking back the offensive play calling for the Denver Broncos and DeMeco Ryans taking over the defense for the Houston Texans. Tomlin's thoughts were interesting and gave some insight to how he might have handled things during his time with the Steelers.
"I've done it some over the years," Tomlin said. "I'll tell you this, any coordinator that works on the side of the ball that's the head coach's area of expertise is subject to that if things are not going well. You get head jobs because of your expertise and your experience in the game, and so if you're not hanging your hat there, where are you hanging your hat? If you're a defensive specialist and your defense isn't going great like DeMeco, that's what you do. I just think it comes with the territory, when your boss has expertise and experience on that side of the ball, that's what happens."
This is an interesting response from Tomlin as fans in Pittsburgh have long wondered what the play calling responsibilities have looked like on the defensive side of the ball during his tenure. The defense has under-performed for most of the decade, and former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin caught a lot of heat for that, but some fans directed their anger towards Tomlin.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin smiles on the field as the players get a workout in during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Austin always stated that he was responsible for calling the defensive plays in Pittsburgh, but from Tomlin's answer above it sounds like the head coach stepped in when he felt like he needed to. If the group was struggling, he would take over or perhaps give some input. He didn't name any specific instances, but he did confirm that he has called defensive plays throughout his time as the head coach in Pittsburgh, which is what a lot of fans already thought.
He also noted that when he had a chance to be a defensive coordinator, he chose to go to the Minnesota Vikings because the head coach at the time was an offensive expert, which gave Tomlin free reign to do what he needed to.
Steelers Now Operate In A Much Different Way
Tomlin was never the true play-caller on defense during his time as head coach, and a big reason for that is that Dick LeBeau was the defensive coordinator when Tomlin took the job in Pittsburgh. Now, things are much different. Right after Mike McCarthy was hired as the new head coach of the Steelers he made it clear that he would be calling the offensive plays. The Steelers hiring McCarthy changed the typical head coaching-expertise in Pittsburgh, and it also shifted who would be calling the plays.
What do you think about this philosophy from Tomlin? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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