The Pittsburgh Steelers quick exit from this year’s playoffs has quite a few people disappointed and as you would probably expect, that includes members of the team’s ownership group. Just how mad? According to a Tuesday morning report by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there’s now a push from some of the team’s limited partners for team president Art Rooney II to fire head coach Mike Tomlin and to hire a new coach.
According to Florio’s report, “The limited partners, who became involved nearly a decade ago as member of the Rooney family sold their interest in the team after acquiring gaming interests that violate league policy, have no authority over the management of the team, but they have a pipeline to owner Art Rooney. Per the source, they plan to utilize it.”
Apparently, some of the team’s limited partners are upset with Tomlin’s “situational football” skills that were displayed not only at the end of the team’s Sunday home playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but late in the team’s Week 15 home loss to the New England Patriots as well. I probably dont have to recap the end of both those games for you.
Additionally, some of the team’s limited partners are reportedly upset with Tomlin’s lack of discipline of star players such as wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell and particularly when it comes to how both use their social media accounts.
You can read the complete story from PFT, but quite honestly, even if several of the team’s limited partners are that upset with Tomlin right now and they are indeed going to push Rooney to fire Tomlin, they aren’t likely to succeed.
Tomlin isn’t going anywhere this offseason and of all people, Florio, a Steelers fan, should know that. It’s also quite interesting that Florio’s Tuesday report was published right at the same time that Tomlin’s final press conference of the season started. Think that was a coincidence?
We pass along these reports because it’s what we do. With that said, while all of us are upset with the way the Steelers 2017 season ended, you can bet your last dollar that Tomlin will not be fired. Sure, there might be changes on the coaching staff, but Tomlin will be back on the sidelines in 2018 even if several of the team’s limited partners don’t want him to be.
