For the last 17 seasons, Mike Tomlin has been firmly entrenched as the future Hall of Fame head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. There have been plenty of highs, lots of lows and an indescribable amount of frustration in between.
Through it all though, there’s never been a question about Tomlin’s standing with the Steelers as the face of the franchise and the man in charge.
That might be changing after the first four games of the season, at least from public perception, especially for ESPN’s Pat McAfee.
Appearing on Tuesday’s The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN and YouTube, McAfee — shortly after Tomlin’s Tuesday press conference that was quite bad — questioned whether this is the beginning of the end for the future Hall of Famer in Pittsburgh after Tomlin stated that the “changes” he promised after the Week Four loss to the Houston Texans weren’t going to be with the offensive coordinator or players themselves, but instead focus on practice style and the intensity with which the Steelers work in practice.
“It feels like this year, the reactions from the people that are normally on his [Tomlin’s] side — because there’s always been detractors in Pittsburgh — the people that are normally on his side, seems like they’re getting a little bit quiet. Could you imagine [Art] Rooney [II] decides, ‘Alright, it’s time to move on from Mike Tomlin.’ It feels like there’s a chance for that this year, and I’ve never felt like that,” McAfee said, according to video via the NFL on ESPN YouTube page. “…It’s getting hard, I think that’s the point that I’m trying to make. All the people that have defended Tomlin — and I think we’re a part of that group — it’s getting to a point where it’s like, ‘Hey, you’re the only human not seeing what everybody else is seeing here. You’re the only one.’
“And when it becomes that, and we appreciate him dying on his shield and everything like that, there might be some changes at the end of the year.”
Feels rather strange to be thinking like this after all the hype and overall excitement coming into the 2023 season for the Steelers, especially with second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett poised to take a leap, a star-studded defense looking like one of the league’s best on paper, and a number of young players on the cusp of stardom.
Instead, all that promise went out the window rather quickly. The Steelers have been beaten by 23-plus points twice already in the first four weeks and have been an absolute train wreck offensively. That has raised questions as to why changes haven’t occurred with the offensive coaching staff — particularly the offensive coordinator — considering these are the same issues the offense has had since Matt Canada took over in 2021.
During his press conference, Tomlin he stated that the changes he promised will occur with how the Steelers prepare in practice, meaning padded practices, and worrying about more matchup-based things rather than making changes to the coaching staff.
Those comments from Tomlin have the fan base riled up and is starting to drive some in the media mad, too. Though it doesn’t feel like Tomlin is in jeopardy of losing his job anytime soon — in fact, he’ll likely get another extension after the season — the consensus regarding Tomlin is starting to turn with the way he is handling the offensive struggles the last few seasons.
